Sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the University of Maryland

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Overview

Project Purpose: Very little is known about the career experiences of women in industrial settings. Demographic trends indicate that women and minorities represent the greatest increases in workforce participation; however, the continued under-representation of women (including minority women) in S&E fields is well documented. While much of the attention to women’s relative absence from S&E fields has focused on women in academe, very little is known about women in other S&E intensive settings.

Sponsored by a grant from the National Science Foundation, the overall aim of Project ENHANCE is to boost the success and participation of women scientists and engineers in the chemical industry.

Project Overview: To use the $450 Billion chemical industry, the leading employer of scientists and engineers in the U.S., as the model sector to:

• Document and analyze the career paths and experiences of women formally trained in science and engineering (S&E) in order to identify factors that impede or facilitate their careers.
• Define where S&E-trained women stand in:
  • Career progression within technical and other professional roles
  • Job types
  • The contextual factors and workplace climate they experience
  • Retention and promotion
• Identify and share effective corporate practices, as identified by women and management, in the recruitment, retention, and promotion of women formally trained in science and engineering.

Primary Studies: We will be surveying both women and management to determine their perceptions and practices regarding support for the career development of women formally trained as scientists and engineers, with follow up interview studies of selected survey participants. The last part of this project will be a compilation of current “best practices” as reported by women and management in Studies 1 and 2 (and supplemented by a review of the literature) regarding programs, initiatives, and methods employed by companies in the chemical industry to support the career progression of women formally trained as scientists and engineers.

Secondary study: Upon completion of the first set of studies, a secondary study will attempt to document industry-wide patterns of the career progression of women and men formally trained as scientists and engineers as reflected in individual company data.

Projected Timeline

Primary Studies:

• Studies 1 & 2: Web-based surveys for both women and management – Start: Q4 2003; End: Q1 2004.
• Studies 1 & 2: Follow up interviews for both women and management – Start: Q1 2004; End: Q3 2004.
• Study 3: “Best practices” study (based on information provided in first two studies) – End: Q1 2005.

Secondary Study:

• Start: end of Q3 of 2004; End: Q3 2005

If you are a woman in the chemical industry formally trained in science and engineering, and are interested in participating in this research, please click on the SURVEY portion of this website. This survey is anonymous, and takes about 30 minutes to complete. We welcome your participation and encourage you to invite trained S&E trained colleagues to participate as well. If you have questions, contact us at projectenhanceatmaryland@yahoo.com.