Attracting and Retaining Women in Engineering
A recommendation tool for companies, developed by WZL at RWTH Aachen University
Despite various initiatives, the proportion of women working at mechanical and plant engineering companies is only increasing at a very slow pace. Raising the share of women in the STEM professions offers numerous potentials for companies: it would alleviate the current shortage of skilled workers, increase innovation capacity, contribute to developing a modern work culture, and strengthen companies’ competitiveness.
As part of a qualitative study on behalf of the VDMA’s IMPULS Foundation, a working group of RWTH’s Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) sought to identify the reasons for the ongoing shortage of women engineers. Building on the results, the researchers have developed specific measures for companies to better attract, retain, and promote women engineers, and make the results available in a hands-on online tool.
The goal of the study was to gain insights into the experiences, needs, and desires of women engineers and to match them against the actual situation in the industry. For this purpose, both prospective and experienced women engineers were interviewed. Furthermore, the authors of the study arranged site visits and held interviews and workshops with representatives from industry to explore the perspective of businesses.
A Myriad of Ways to Promote Women Engineers
The results of the study, which focused on career orientation, job search, entry into the job market, and professional life, show that there are many opportunities for promoting women in the mechanical and plant engineering sector that can be easily implemented. Ideally, initiatives to make the engineering profession attractive to women start at school and continue into the career planning of women engineers already working in the sector.
Companies, schools, and public institutions are called upon to represent engineering as an attractive, modern career choice across all career stages: The aim is to remove the outdated image of the industry, present a modern image of engineering, and make female role models in engineering more accessible and visible. Women engineers are innovative and important for our future, they have a secure and attractive profession – this must be the message.
When women graduates embark upon their career, they are basically not asking for anything outrageous: They want to have a meaningful job in mechanical and plant engineering where they are taken seriously, have the opportunity to develop their talents, and stretch themselves in an exciting working environment.
However, experienced women engineers looking back on their work life report that these career goals cannot be taken for granted: In their experience, there is a lot of pressure to adapt in order to be taken seriously in this male-dominated field. Another barrier to advancing professionally in the field is parental leave, as employees who want to progress in the workplace are still expected to work full time and be “available” at all times. The study shows that in addition to actively promoting women in management positions, for example through part-time work and job-sharing models, great potential is offered by the evolving societal understanding of the role of fathers, as cultural change affects women and men equally.
Seizing the Opportunity of Change
Corporate culture should strive to promote a healthy work-life balance and equal opportunities and offer clear, transparent possibilities for career advancement. In addition, recruitment processes, job postings, and corporate websites need to be geared more toward female applicants.
“The industry must seize the opportunities of change: The young women surveyed are increasingly demanding that companies approach them and adapt to their requirements,” says Johanna Werz, a research associate at WZL and co-author of the study.
While some companies are setting a positive example and have measures in place to improve the recruitment of women, others are hesitant to prioritize the issue of gender equality. Certainly, there is much that needs to be done, and for many companies the question arises as to what they can do specifically. At the same time, the site visits showed that external perspectives, specific inquiries, and hands-on assistance are considered very valuable. Often, it is not necessary to make big changes right away – small steps can be enough to make a difference. And WZL at RWTH Aachen University is happy to support you in this endeavor!
For this reason, Professor Ingrid Isenhardt, Academic Director at WZL, is optimistic:
“There are many impressive examples showing that women can thrive in the industry and bring in their valuable skills. With support from management and effective measures in place, this can be achieved. No one can afford to be hesitant in this matter today.”
The report, which describes the study and its results in more detail, and our recommendations for companies can be found at: www.womengineers.de. A checklist assists companies in gaining insights and identifying the next steps to take.
If you have any questions about the study or suitable measures for companies, please contact Johanna Werz, johanna.werz@ima.rwth-aachen.de or Lea Daling, lea.daling@ima.rwth-aachen.de.
– Authors: Johanna Werz, Lea Daling, Esther Borowski, Ingrid Isenhardt