Expanding women in undergraduate engineering: A mixed-methods analysis of recruitment cultures, practices, and policies

Bringing a diverse set of perspectives to bear on problems is important for spurring scientific and technical innovation. Thus, it is imperative to identify effective ways to enable the recruitment of additional women into engineering. Using a concurrent mixed methods approach, we investigate this issue using 1) qualitative data from 468 faculty, student, and administrator interviews from six case study institutions, and 2) quantitative data from nationally representative surveys of faculty and administrators from 31 institutions. Our study highlights three themes consistent across the institutions: 1) institutional commitment and self-awareness, 2) strategic admissions policies and "high touch" efforts, and 3) integrated outreach programs. Quantitative data show higher diversity perceptions at case study institutions in comparison to the full population. Outreach responsibilities tend to fall on the backs of only a few faculty members, especially women faculty. Furthermore, there is the perception that such efforts are not given strong consideration in determining promotion and tenure or merit salary decisions. Our findings imply that institutions need to consider ways to adjust policies to reward faculty members for their time spent in this manner so that they will have incentives to continue supporting activities that appear to enhance the field\´s diversity.