A Comparative Study of Female Engineers’ Experiences in Ireland: Why Women Persist, Leave, or Consider Leaving Engineering

This article presents the first large scale quantitative study on the issue of female retention in the Irish context. In this examination of what drives women to persist or leave the industry, we identify factors such as demographics, employment conditions and workplace issues that play a role in determining the scale of Ireland's attrition problem for female engineers. The scale of experiences of sexism amongst respondents is presented as are some surprising findings on the lack of the relevance of pay or stress in determining whether a woman persists or leaves engineering. This article also presents findings on a new novel group within scholarship on female retention in engineering: women who have considered leaving. Almost half of the respondents still working in engineering have considered leaving the industry. As such, this article presents their experiences to address the knowledge gap on occupational commitment of women still employed as engineers and, in doing so, adds nuance to the categorizations of women who leave and women who persist. Arguably, paying attention to the experiences and needs of women who have considered leaving is where the most immediate and impactful interventions can be made to prevent female attrition in engineering in Ireland.