Predictors of women´s entry into engineering: why academic preparation is not sufficient

Women and minorities continue to be underrepresented in engineering. Betz and Hackett (1981) suggested that women´s socialization provides them with less exposure to the information that allows individuals to develop self-efficacy for traditionally male occupations. This social cognitive hypothesis proposes that low self-efficacy for the tasks required to enter and succeed in engineering is the primary reason women and minorities continue to be underrepresented in engineering. The present study used a social cognitive framework and structural equation modeling to determine what factors predict the intentions of male and female high school students to pursue engineering majors in college. Preliminary data indicate that in order to increase the likelihood of a high school student planning on an engineering career, efforts should be focused on the student gaining quality mathematical and science experiences, exposure to engineering role models and a special emphasis must be made with respect to recruiting women into engineering.