Sara Amani, Graduate Student at the Institute for Engineering Education & Innovation at Texas A&M University, recently attended the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) International Conference 2022 in Houston and presented on the topic “Attracting, Retaining, and Developing Female Engineers in Qatar.”
The study’s Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator are Dr. Sara Hillman, Instructional Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University at Qatar, and Dr. Annie Ruimi, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University at Qatar
Although Qatar has prioritized women’s legal and social advancement over the past two decades, and the country has a high percentage of female engineers, this does not always result in equal representation and job satisfaction for women once they enter the workplace. In this exploratory study, the team examined current female engineering students and alumnae’s perceptions of how attractive engineering is for women in Qatar. Using a survey and interviews, data was gathered and analyzed using a multi-method approach.
Sara shared some of the study’s key findings as part of the presentation. She also discussed the need for context-specific, macro, meso, and micro approaches bringing together government, academia, and industry—as well as addressing the legal, sociocultural, and structural barriers that prevent women from being recruited and retained in Qatar’s engineering industry.
The SWE Conference is one of the world’s largest conferences targeted at women in engineering and technology and is held annually by the Society of Women Engineers. The conference allows attendees to gain deeper insight into engineering, network globally, and develop professionally through workshops.
“Attending the SWE Conference was such a refreshing and inspiring experience. An engineering convention with such a large number of women engineers was unprecedented to me! Our sessions were candid and focused on the real challenges we face as women in the industry. Overall, it was an honor to present our research to people in the field,” said Sara.