‘I think the young women have it easier’: Age, Gender, and Women’s Experiences in Canadian Engineering
Keywords:
Engineering, Employment, Ontario Canada, Women, Age, Life CourseAbstract
Engineering has long been a male-dominated profession, with a reputation of being
less than welcoming to women. In Canada and other Western countries, efforts to
attract more women into the field date back decades. As a result of such initiatives,
women entering engineering today could experience their work differently than
those who preceded them. This paper draws on the life course paradigm to
determine whether there are gender differences in engineering across age cohort.
Analysing data from a survey and in-depth interviews with engineers in Ontario,
Canada, the paper explores whether gender intersects with age cohort to determine
experiences of employment, opportunities, and work-family conflict. Although
women share some experiences across age — such as concerns about pay and
recognition — differences by cohort emerged. Young women are disadvantaged
compared to young men and others with respect to securing stable employment in
engineering. Older women report more challenges with work-family conflict and
have less decision-making authority at work. Interviews further suggest that young
women both have it ‘easier’ and harder than others. The findings demonstrate how
the life course paradigm can also be used to shed light on the intersection of
gender and age in professions.
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