Tenure/Tenure-Track Faculty
According to data from the American Society for Engineering Education in 2022, there was a significant gender and rank disparity among engineering faculty. Among engineering male faculty members, 51% held positions as full professors, while only 35.7% of women faculty occupied similar roles. Furthermore, data indicated that 36% of women were employed as assistant professors, in contrast to 23.4% of their male counterparts. Overall, women accounted for 19.6% of all engineering faculty members. Breaking this data down by rank reveals the uneven distribution of roles within the academic rank structure, with 14.6% of full professors, 21.3% of associate professors, and 27.3% of assistant professors being women. The significance of rank in academia extends beyond titles; it significantly impacts salary and benefits, with full professors often enjoying greater financial rewards and professional privileges.
In addition to being underrepresented in engineering faculty by rank, the gender gap widens over time based on when women earn their doctorate degrees. Data from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics in 2021 revealed that women who obtained their doctoral degrees within the last decade accounted for 29.7% of faculty in computer science and 26.2% in engineering. However, the numbers drop significantly for women who earned their doctorates ten years or more ago, with only 21.2% in computer science and 20.1% in engineering. These statistics underscore the systemic challenges and barriers that women face in advancing their careers in STEM fields, indicating the need for targeted interventions and support mechanisms to address these disparities and ensure equitable representation across all career stages.
Faculty Salaries
The most recent NCSES Survey of Doctorate Recipients (2023) shows that in 2021, the median salary for women faculty in computer and information sciences was lower than that of their male peers at each faculty level. However, at all faculty levels in engineering, women’s median salary was equal to or more than that of their male counterparts. In 2021, female full professors earned 14 thousand dollars more than male faculty with the same rank.
Faculty by Discipline
On average, only 19.6% of tenure/tenure-track faculty in U.S. engineering colleges are women. Life science-related engineering disciplines have the largest percentages of female tenure/tenure-track faculty, with about 1 in 4 tenure/tenure-track faculty being female. Aerospace engineering has the lowest inclusion of female faculty, where less than 13% of tenure/tenure-track faculty are female.
Faculty by Academic Position
Among doctoral scientists and engineers employed in universities and four-year colleges, women are underrepresented at various academic positions and levels. In 2019, women represented about 36% of these institutions’ deans, department heads, and chairs. Similarly, they represented approximately 36% and 37% of the research and teaching faculty, respectively. Women had a slightly higher representation in the academic positions of adjunct faculty (42.7 %) and postdoctoral researchers (42.6%).
Engineering Faculty Women of Color
According to the 2021 Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering report, women in underrepresented racial and ethnic groups comprise less than 2% of female faculty in tenure or tenure-track positions. White women represent the most common race among female faculty, followed by Asian women.
SWE Efforts to Increase Female Representation among Engineering and Computer Science Faculty
Additional Resources
- American Society for Engineering Education. (2023). Profiles of Engineering and Engineering Technology.
- National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. 2019 and 2021. Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2019. Special Report NSF 19-304 and 21-321. Alexandria, VA. Available at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd.
- National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Doctorate Recipients, 2021.
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) SEA Change, recognizing institutional transformation for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.