Baltimore , Maryland
June 25, 2023
June 25, 2023
June 28, 2023
Women in Engineering Division (WIED)
Diversity
16
10.18260/1-2--43710
https://peer.asee.org/43710
286
Saiyn Kurmankulov received Bachelor's degree in Standardization, Certification and Metrology from the al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2019. He is currently pursuing an MSc degree in Engineering Management at Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan. His research interest is in data analysis, feature engineering, construction of relationship models and machine learning.
Dr. Tsakalerou is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Management, in a graduate program jointly run by the School of Engineering and the Graduate School of Business at Nazarbayev University. Her research interests are in the areas of knowledge management, innovation networks and equity in STEM. She also serves as a board member of a software start up. In the past, she has served as a senior ministerial advisor to the Ministry of Administrative Reform and e-Governance in Greece, as a fellow with the KMIRC of Hong Kong Polytechnic University and as a visiting scholar at George Washington University and at the National University of Singapore.
The challenges faced by female engineers in a transitional economy are unique in the sense that central efforts for gender mainstreaming often co-exist with persistent vertical discrimination, which may reduce incentives for women to upgrade their skills. Even in countries that improved their relevant indicators in recent years, still face hidden issues that require careful consideration. Thus, this study was conducted to illuminate influences at the individual, interpersonal, organizational, and societal levels that are present as barriers to and facilitators for advancement in STEM studies and in particular engineering for females. The authors conducted 18 individual semi-structured in-depth interviews with female undergraduate students at a leading, English-language and American style research university in Kazakhstan in 2022. Kazakhstan, being the leading country in Central Asia, represents interesting case study as it has achieved gender parity in its research workforce, but not in engineering. According to national statistics, only 32% of undergraduate students in STEM disciplines are female and this percentage is decreasing with the dropout of women from STEM as they move forward in their education. The analysis of the interviews revealed the main barriers, challenges, and issues influencing females and ranked their importance. A key outcome of the study is the importance of support, mainly from family and teachers, as it has the biggest impact on building confidence and retaining female engineers in their careers.
Kurmankulov, S., & Dikhanbayeva, D., & Perveen, A., & Tsakalerou, M. (2023, June), Female Engineers in a Transitional Economy: Perceptual Facilitators for and Barriers to Studying in STEM Fields Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43710
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