Women as Sustainability Leaders in Engineering: Evidence from Industry and Academia

Women are underrepresented in engineering education and practice, which limits the quality of the engineering workforce. One way to increase the participation of women in engineering is to emphasize subjects that appeal to them and emphasize skills at which they are especially adept. A subject that may fit this description is sustainability. The purpose of this research is to compare the percentage of women in selected sustainable engineering leadership positions to the percentage of women in general engineering leadership positions, to examine whether the subject of sustainability may help increase participation of women in engineering. Gender data was collected for the \u27sustainability leader\u27 at 79 of the largest design and construction companies in the U.S. Similar data was also compiled for engineering faculty attending workshops to share best practices for teaching sustainability. The percentage of women in the sustainability leader industry positions is much higher (39%), than the percentage of women in general management positions (8%). The percentage of woman attending the workshops is much higher (32%) than the percentage of woman engineering faculty (12%). Analysis of these results shows a statistically significant positive correlation between the subject of sustainability and increased percentages of women in engineering leadership positions. Increased consideration of sustainability in engineering education and practice could also help address the critical need to attract more women to the field. Recommendations to expand this research are outlined at a career, college, and pre-college level

Women as Sustainability Leaders in Engineering: Evidence from Industry and Academia in the U.S.

Women are underrepresented in engineering education and practice, which limits the quality of the engineering workforce. One way to increase the participation of women in engineering is to emphasize subjects that appeal to them and require skills at which they are especially adept. A subject that may fit this description is sustainability. To examine whether the subject of sustainability may help increase the participation of women in engineering, the purpose of this research is to compare the percentage of women in selected sustainable engineering leadership positions with the percentage of women in general engineering leadership positions. Gender data were collected for the ‘sustainability leader’ at 79 of the largest design and construction companies in the U.S. Similar data were also compiled for engineering faculty attending workshops to share best practices for teaching sustainability. The percentage of women in the sustainability leader industry positions is much higher (39%) than the percentage of women in general management positions (8%). The percentage of woman attending the workshops is much higher (32%) than the percentage of woman engineering faculty (12%). Analysis of these results shows a statistically significant positive correlation between the subject of sustainability and increased percentages of women in engineering leadership positions. Increased consideration of sustainability in engineering education and practice could also help address the critical need to attract more women to the field

Unintended anchors: Building rating systems and energy performance goals for U.S. buildings

In the U.S., where buildings account for 40% of energy use, commercial buildings use more energy per unit area than ever before. However, exemplary buildings demonstrate the feasibility of much better energy performance at no additional first cost. This research examines one possible explanation for this inconsistency. The aim is to investigate whether the anchoring bias, which refers to our tendency to gravitate towards a pre-defined standard regardless of its relevance, influences energy performance goals in building design. The scope examines professionals who help set energy performance goals for U.S. buildings. Prior to being asked to set an energy performance goal, these professionals were randomly directed to one of three series of questions. One series set an anchor of 90% energy reduction beyond standard practice, one set a 30% anchor, and one set no anchor. Respondents exposed to the 90% anchor, and respondents exposed to no anchor at all, set higher energy performance goals than respondents exposed to the 30% anchor. These results suggest that building rating systems that only reward incremental energy improvements may inadvertently create anchors, thereby discouraging more advanced energy performance goals and inhibiting energy performance that is technically and economically feasible.Buildings Anchoring Cognitive Bias