Family formation and the career trajectories of women engineering PhDs

Purpose The underrepresentation of women in engineering has important consequences for meeting the need a larger, talented scientific and technological labor force. Increasing proportion faculty will help increase persistence probabilities undergraduate graduate students engineering, as well contribute to range diversity ideas toward innovations solutions greatest challenges. This study aims examine association among gender, family formation post-PhD employment patterns cohort doctorates. Design/methodology/approach Using National Science Foundation’s Survey Doctorate Recipients data, 2001–2010, descriptive multinomial logit regression analyses are conducted illustrate career trajectories PhDs over ten-year period. Findings nonlinear, transitions between sectors commonly occur time period studied. Although with young dependents less likely be employed initially after PhD completion, they tend enter workforce academic sector progresses. Early postdoctoral researcher or contributes pursuit professoriate downstream. Originality/value While previous studies focus on early outcomes science students, this literature by focusing long-term Research findings provide more information regarding potential trajectories, highlighting multitude options that time. also higher education administrators doctoral program stakeholders foundational designing revitalizing professional development programs prepare workforce. have applied helping shaping policies encourage multiple alternative pathways professoriate.