The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Women engineering students' experiences of UK higher education

Abstract

This chapter explores how some of these women experience engineering in higher education (HE) in the UK. The first part examines the issue of women in engineering and engineering education, highlighting the importance of increasing the number of professional women engineers. The second part investigates the cultures that persist in engineering and higher education generally which act as barriers to women's progression, before addressing specific cultural factors in engineering education that may hinder women's advancement to the engineering professions. The final part of the chapter sets out the findings of an Economic and Social Research Council project into these issues. It begins by describing the methodology used and proceeds to analyse women's experiences of UK engineering education in terms of the good, the bad and the ugly. These terms are explained using examples from the research findings later in the chapter.