Work in Progress: An Exploration of the In/Authentic Experiences of Engineers

Gretchen A. Dietz; Elliot P. Douglas; Erica D. McCray

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual On line
Publication Date: June 22, 2020
Start Date: June 22, 2020
End Date: June 26, 2021
Conference Session: Sense of Belonging and Diversity in Engineering Programs, Courses, and Teams
Tagged Division: Educational Research and Methods
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 7
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--35608
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/35608
Download Count: 390

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Gretchen A. Dietz University of Florida

visit author page

Gretchen A. Dietz is a PhD candidate within Environmental Engineering Sciences at the University of Florida. Her research interests include diversity in engineering and qualitative methodologies.

visit author page

biography

Elliot P. Douglas University of Florida

visit author page

Elliot P. Douglas is Professor of Environmental Engineering Sciences and Engineering Education, and Distinguished Teaching Scholar at the University of Florida. His research interests are in the areas of problem-solving, cultures of inclusion in engineering, engineering ethics, and environmental justice.

visit author page

biography

Erica D. McCray University of Florida orcid.org/0000-0001-8140-678X

visit author page

Dr. Erica D. McCray is an Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Florida. Prior to joining the faculty, she served as a special educator for students with behavioral and learning disabilities in Title I elementary and middle school settings. Dr. McCray has been recognized on multiple levels for her teaching and research, which focuses on diversity issues.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

This paper is a work in progress (WIP) assessing how engineers view aspects of the workplace culture affecting the extent to which they can authentically be themselves. We also assess how engineers describe the manifestation of racist ideas in their workplace. While considerable effort has been made to change the demographics of engineering, the profession still lacks diversity. White males are persistently the majority within engineering, which defines the culture of the field. This potentially causes Black individuals to mask aspects of their identity in order to assimilate into the dominant workplace culture. It is important to bring more awareness to racial diversity issues in workplaces. In this study, data were collected through interviews from three different engineers working within the same company in order to explore workplace conditions. The participants were one Black male, and two White males.

Two frameworks were utilized for the investigation of in/authentic experiences and the manifestation of racist ideas. We used an extension of Wendy Faulkner’s (2009) concept of in/authenticity, which describes how women in engineering may have experiences that are either authentic or inauthentic to their personal identities. We shifted this lens towards racialized experiences in addition to gendered experiences and focused on Black engineers. We also used a framework derived from Kendi’s (2016) history of racist ideas in the U.S.. We employed this framework to examine structural racism in the workplace. Kendi describes three stances on race: segregationists, antiracists, and assimilationists. He also points to moments of advantage and disadvantage taken by individuals. We used these personas and moments to investigate their effects on the experiences of Black engineers.

This paper documents findings from pilot data collected for a larger project. Initial analysis of the pilot data using the two frameworks allowed us to identify individual and structural acts of racism in the engineering workplace of the company where the three participants work. With regard to in/authenticity, the White engineers saw no distinction between their personal and work identities. They saw the company’s values aligning with their personal values, and the workplace as being open and comfortable. In contrast, the Black engineer described taking on different identities in business settings and one-on-one interactions. In business settings, he felt the need to be a “commanding force”. In one-on-one settings he allowed himself to be “open… free flowing” and bring in “a more wide range of emotions” to interactions. Several points of structural racism were identified including lack of attention to racial diversity while hiring, lack of diversity in the workplace, and colorblind attitudes. For example, the Black engineer noted his lack of advancement within the company, with reasons being “people not having the opportunity to know me”, while White engineers expressed a colorblind approach, insisting that race has no place in selecting leaders. All participants saw the advantage of diversity, yet little action was being taken to improve diversity in their company. With this project we intend to bring light to the experiences of Black engineers, and to make industry stakeholders more explicitly aware of diversity issues.

References:

Faulkner, W. (2009). Doing gender in engineering workplace cultures. II. Gender in/authenticity and the in/visibility paradox. Engineering Studies, 1(3), 169-189.

Kendi, I. X. (2016). Stamped from the beginning: The definitive history of racist ideas in America. New York: Nation Books.

Citation
Format

Dietz, G. A., & Douglas, E. P., & McCray, E. D. (2020, June), Work in Progress: An Exploration of the In/Authentic Experiences of Engineers Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--35608

TY - CPAPER
AB - This paper is a work in progress (WIP) assessing how engineers view aspects of the workplace culture affecting the extent to which they can authentically be themselves. We also assess how engineers describe the manifestation of racist ideas in their workplace. While considerable effort has been made to change the demographics of engineering, the profession still lacks diversity. White males are persistently the majority within engineering, which defines the culture of the field. This potentially causes Black individuals to mask aspects of their identity in order to assimilate into the dominant workplace culture. It is important to bring more awareness to racial diversity issues in workplaces. In this study, data were collected through interviews from three different engineers working within the same company in order to explore workplace conditions. The participants were one Black male, and two White males.

Two frameworks were utilized for the investigation of in/authentic experiences and the manifestation of racist ideas. We used an extension of Wendy Faulkner’s (2009) concept of in/authenticity, which describes how women in engineering may have experiences that are either authentic or inauthentic to their personal identities. We shifted this lens towards racialized experiences in addition to gendered experiences and focused on Black engineers. We also used a framework derived from Kendi’s (2016) history of racist ideas in the U.S.. We employed this framework to examine structural racism in the workplace. Kendi describes three stances on race: segregationists, antiracists, and assimilationists. He also points to moments of advantage and disadvantage taken by individuals. We used these personas and moments to investigate their effects on the experiences of Black engineers.

This paper documents findings from pilot data collected for a larger project. Initial analysis of the pilot data using the two frameworks allowed us to identify individual and structural acts of racism in the engineering workplace of the company where the three participants work. With regard to in/authenticity, the White engineers saw no distinction between their personal and work identities. They saw the company’s values aligning with their personal values, and the workplace as being open and comfortable. In contrast, the Black engineer described taking on different identities in business settings and one-on-one interactions. In business settings, he felt the need to be a “commanding force”. In one-on-one settings he allowed himself to be “open… free flowing” and bring in “a more wide range of emotions” to interactions. Several points of structural racism were identified including lack of attention to racial diversity while hiring, lack of diversity in the workplace, and colorblind attitudes. For example, the Black engineer noted his lack of advancement within the company, with reasons being “people not having the opportunity to know me”, while White engineers expressed a colorblind approach, insisting that race has no place in selecting leaders. All participants saw the advantage of diversity, yet little action was being taken to improve diversity in their company. With this project we intend to bring light to the experiences of Black engineers, and to make industry stakeholders more explicitly aware of diversity issues.

References:

Faulkner, W. (2009). Doing gender in engineering workplace cultures. II. Gender in/authenticity and the in/visibility paradox. Engineering Studies, 1(3), 169-189.

Kendi, I. X. (2016). Stamped from the beginning: The definitive history of racist ideas in America. New York: Nation Books.
AU - Gretchen A. Dietz
AU - Elliot P. Douglas
AU - Erica D. McCray
CY - Virtual On line
DA - 2020/06/22
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Work in Progress: An Exploration of the In/Authentic Experiences of Engineers
UR - https://peer.asee.org/35608
DO - 10.18260/1-2--35608
ER -