After she got her master's degree, I went to work for a relatively small aerospace company. My first manager was a woman who was six months pregnant when I started. They hired a lot of women at my level. It was probably 50-50 in my incoming sort of set of new employees. And it was fun. Not at all old school, which is what I had expected from an aerospace industry.
Being treated like an outsider. Feeling like you have to prove yourself. Struggling to make your voice heard. Whether it’s overt discrimination or more subtle forms of bias, male-dominated industries like engineering can pose challenges for women. Research shows that even well-meaning mentors direct female engineers into less technical, less valued roles. It’s no wonder so many women end up leaving the industry.
We talk to a professor and two students at Olin College of Engineering about their experiences working among mostly men, what it means to “play nice,” and how male colleagues can help (listen!). Then we talk to an expert about how to evaluate a company’s gender culture before you accept a job and how to stay true to your career goals when other people think they know what’s best for you.
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Our theme music is Matt Hill’s “City In Motion,” provided by Audio Network.