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Introduction
Growth in the number of women teaching engineering in US universities
has been of high priority for several decades. The benefits of such
growth have been discussed by others and there is no need to restate
them here. The present study considered the factors that control the
increase in the number of women faculty members.
Engineering Doctorates Awarded to Women
Essentially all engineering faculty have doctoral degrees. Thus, the
supply of women who are candidates for academic positions is limited in
part by the number of doctorates awarded to women. The number of
doctoral degrees in engineering awarded to women since AY1984-85 is
shown in the graph below along with the number of women holding academic
positions.
Both total numbers of doctoral degrees awarded to women and
doctorates awarded to US citizens are shown. The number of potential
candidates for faculty positions will be less than the former and
greater than the latter.
In general, the total number of doctorates annually awarded to women
has increased substantially and almost linearly for two decades (an
average increase of about 50 per year). The number of doctorates awarded
to women who were US citizens has been essentially constant since
AY1994-95. The number of women in each of the three faculty ranks has
increased substantially since data began to be collected in Fall 2000.
It is noteworthy that the number of assistant professors is greatest and
the number of full professors is least.
The growth in the number of women in the three academic ranks would
appear to indicate that women have had increasing success in obtaining
academic positions and also have been successful in being promoted to
higher ranks. Further, the increases in numbers of doctorates since
AY1984-85 would appear to indicate that this success will be maintained
in the future.
Total numbers of engineering doctorates and faculty are shown in the
graph below for comparison to the data for women shown in the graph
above.
The data shown above exhibit trends unlike those for women. The total
number of doctorates awarded annually from AY1998-99 through AY2002-03
was essentially constant. AY2003-04 data indicate that the significant
growth in doctoral enrollments since Fall 1997 has begun to yield
increasing numbers of doctoral graduates. Faculty numbers (all three
ranks) have increased slightly since Fall 2000. In addition, the number
of full professors is greatest and the number of assistant professors is
least. It should be anticipated that the number of women holding
associate and full professor positions will increase faster than those
in assistant professor positions in the future, leading to a ranking of
"full professor highest and assistant professor lowest" as shown for all
engineering faculty.
Relative Numbers of Women Awarded Doctorates and Holding Academic
Positions
The trends for women in terms of doctorates awarded and faculty
positions become tempered when data relative to total numbers of
doctorates and faculty are considered. The data presented in the graph
below indicate that the relative number of doctorates awarded to women
has been essentially constant since AY2001-02. However, these data show
that a minimum in doctorates awarded to women reaches a minimum every
five years. As is the case in many trend studies, next year will be
critical.
In terms of faculty positions, the relative growth of associate and
full professors is more modest than would be inferred from the growth in
total numbers of women in these positions. Most disturbing is the fact
that little significant change has occurred in the relative number of
assistant professors.
Women Awarded Doctorates in Engineering Fields Making the
Transition to Academia
The transition from doctoral graduate study to an appointment as an
assistant professor was investigated. The number of women who are
assistant professors in a specific year were awarded doctorates over a
previous span of years. This span was assumed to be approximately six
years; data were obtained for five and seven years as well. The
calculations yielded the fraction of women who were awarded doctorates
that made the transition to an academic career, presumably as assistant
professors. The results for each of the three years for which assistant
professor data are available (Fall of 2001, 2002 and 2003) varied
little; the data reported below are the averages for the three-year
period.
Using a six-year span of doctorate degrees prior to appointment as an
assistant professor, 14.6% of the women awarded doctoral degrees became
engineering faculty members. The fractions using five- and seven-year
spans were 17.2% and 12.6%. The six-year span fraction will be used
throughout the remainder of this report.
It is noteworthy that the fraction of women awarded doctorates that
obtain faculty positions (14.7%) is almost the same as that for all
awardees of doctorates (12.5%). Thus, a higher fraction of women
receiving doctorates is necessary for the relative number of women
holding academic positions to increase.
For AY2003-04, 1136 doctorates in engineering were awarded to women
and 550 to women who were US citizens. Assuming that 14.6% will enter
academia, these degrees should result in 166 women becoming assistant
professors (80 if degrees awarded to US citizens are considered). The
average annual increase since Fall 2001 in the total number of women
holding faculty positions (all ranks) was 146. Thus, continued
substantial growth in the number of women teaching in US engineering
colleges should be expected.
Summary
The continued, substantial growth in the number of doctoral degrees
awarded annually to women in engineering should continue to provide an
expanding source of candidates for academic positions. It is important
to note, though, that the number of doctorates awarded to women in
engineering who are US citizens has been constant for about a decade and
the fraction of women awarded doctorates has been essentially constant
since AY2001-02.
The number of women teaching in engineering colleges continues to
increase over the period for which data are available (Fall 2001 through
Fall 2003). On the other hand, data indicate that the fraction of women
at the assistant professor rank has been essentially constant during
this period. About 14.6% of women awarded doctorates currently embark
upon careers in engineering education. If this number, only slightly
higher than the fraction for all doctoral degree recipients (12.5%),
remains constant, the growth of the relative number of women with
academic appointments should continue to increase, but only very slowly.
Acknowledgment
The faculty data for this study originated from the annual surveys of
the American Society for Engineering Education. The degree data
originated from the annual surveys of the Engineering Workforce
Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies.
Engineering Trends acknowledges the efforts of these organizations in
providing credible data and expresses its gratitude for their services
to the engineering profession. Persons seeking further information about
their surveys and the availability survey data should visit the ASEE (www.asee.org)
and AAES/EWC (www.aaes.org) Web sites.
Footnotes
Engineering Trends data are compiled mainly from information
submitted by universities to the annual surveys of EWC and ASEE. On the
very rare occasions where errors in data appear, Engineering Trends
corrects the error, if possible, or deletes the data if the error is
large enough to alter significantly the trend of the university or the
US total.
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