Workplace Statistics About Women in Engineering in the USA
Compiled by the Society of Women Engineers from NSF and Census Data
Number of Employed Engineers by Sex - Graph | Table
Disciplines of Employed Engineers by Sex - Graph | Table
Engineering Disciplines Compared to All Engineering - Graph | Table
Median Annual Engineering Salaries by Sex and Years Since Degree - Graph | Table
The information on these pages comes from these sources:
-
National Science Board, Science & Engineering Indicators - 1998.
-
National Science Board, Science & Engineering Indicators - 2000.
-
National Science Board, Science & Engineering Indicators - 2002.
-
Statistical Abstract of the United States - 1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000
Other good sources of information are:
- National Science Foundation, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering:1998.
- National Science Foundation, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering:2000.
- National Science Foundation/Division of Science Resources and Statistics; data from Department of Education/National Center for Education Statistics: Integrated Post Secondary Education Data Completions Survey.
The data contained in these documents is free to the public. These publications are available as .pdf files at
http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/stats.htm
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-us.html
Please be aware that the NSF summary data include a broad definition of Science that includes the Social Sciences, such as Political Science and Psychology.
The SESTAT Data Base (NSF's Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System) is located at https://sestat.nsf.gov/sestat/sestat.html and allows you to query the data. To learn more about the SESTAT Data Base please read: SESTAT: A Tool for Studying Scientists and Engineers in the United States at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf99337/.
There are many published research articles about the engineering education of women. A good source for this research is ERIC, the world's largest source of education information. The ERIC website is located at http://www.eduref.org. It has over 1,000 abstracts of documents and journal articles referencing women and engineering education research and practice from 1966 through 2001.
The American Association of Engineering Societies: Engineering Workforce Commission conducts several engineering surveys and has several publications. Publications can be purchased via their website: http://www.aaes.org/.
| Employed Engineers by Sex |
| Year |
Male |
Female |
% Female |
| 1983 |
1,480,824 |
91,176 |
5.8% |
| 1994 |
1,711,122 |
154,878 |
8.3% |
| 1995 |
1,771,544 |
162,456 |
8.4% |
| 1996 |
1,793,400 |
166,600 |
8.5% |
| 1997 |
1,840,544 |
195,456 |
9.6% |
| 1998 |
1,824,228 |
227,772 |
11.1% |
| 1999 |
1,860,414 |
220,586 |
10.6% |
| 2000 |
1,886,000 |
207,000 |
9.9% |
| 2002 |
1,809,000 |
219,000 |
10.8% |
| 2004 |
1,634,000 |
186,000 |
10.2% |
| Source: US Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, Volumes 1995 through 2000; Table: Employed Civilians, by Occupation, Sex, Race and Hispanic Origin. (Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings, monthly, January issues.) Source (for years 2000-2004): Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering; Table H-2 and H-3, National Science Foundation, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 1984-2004. |
| Disciplines of Employed Engineers by Sex 2000 |
| Discipline |
Male |
Female |
% Female |
| Aero |
100,465 |
10,015 |
9.1% |
| ChemE |
55,715 |
9,359 |
14.4% |
| Civil |
245,890 |
27,755 |
10.1% |
| EE |
283,175 |
26,940 |
8.7% |
| Environ |
26,914 |
7,675 |
22.2% |
| HW |
55,600 |
10,848 |
16.3% |
| IE |
159,440 |
31,830 |
16.6% |
| Marine |
10,304 |
553 |
5.1% |
| Materials |
34,085 |
4,650 |
12.0% |
| ME |
258,920 |
18,144 |
6.5% |
| Mgr |
148,335 |
10,524 |
6.6% |
| Misc |
292,560 |
33,934 |
10.4% |
| Nuc |
7,808 |
718 |
8.4% |
| Petro |
21,115 |
1,416 |
6.3% |
| Programmer |
480,870 |
182,575 |
27.5% |
| SW |
541,895 |
177,275 |
24.6% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2000; Table: Employed Civilians, by Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin. (Source:U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings, monthly, January issues.) |
| Engineering Disciplines % Total |
| Discipline |
Male |
Female |
Total |
| Aero |
3.7% |
1.8% |
3.4% |
| ChemE |
2.0% |
1.7% |
2.0% |
| Civil |
9.0% |
5.0% |
8.3% |
| EE |
10.4% |
4.9% |
9.5% |
| Environ |
1.0% |
1.4% |
1.1% |
| HW |
2.0% |
2.0% |
2.0% |
| IE |
5.9% |
5.7% |
5.8% |
| Marine |
.4% |
.1% |
.3% |
| Materials |
1.3% |
.8% |
1.2% |
| ME |
9.5% |
3.3% |
8.5% |
| Mgr |
5.4% |
1.9% |
4.8% |
| Misc |
10.7% |
6.1% |
10.0% |
| Nuc |
.3% |
.1% |
.3% |
| Petro |
.8% |
.3% |
.7% |
| Programmer |
17.7% |
32.9% |
20.2% |
| SW |
19.9% |
32.0% |
21.9% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2000; Table: Employed Civilians, by Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin.(Source:U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings, monthly, January issues.) |
| 2003 Median Annual Salaries of Engineers by Years Since Degree - All Degree Levels |
| Years Since Degree |
Male |
Female |
| Less than 5 |
60,000 |
54,700 |
| 5 to 9 |
70,000 |
67,000 |
| 10 - 14 |
77,000 |
77,000 |
| 15 - 19 |
80,000 |
72,000 |
| 20 - 24 |
85,000 |
76,000 |
| 25 - 29 |
84,000 |
75,000 |
| 30-34 |
85,000 |
24,300 |
| 35 and greater |
85,000 |
59,000 |
| Source: Science and Engineering Indicators 2006 Volume 2; Appendix Table 3-11. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT), preliminary estimates (2003) |
|
Education Statistics About Women in Engineering in the USA
Compiled by the Society of Women Engineers from NSF and Census Data
Undergraduate Enrollment in Engineering by Sex - Graph | Table
Earned Bachelor's Degrees in Engineering by Sex - Graph | Table
Graduate Enrollment in Engineering by Sex - Graph | Table
Earned Master's Degrees in Engineering by Sex - Graph | Table
Earned Doctoral Degrees in Engineering by Sex - Graph | Table
The information on these pages comes from these sources:
-
National Science Board, Science & Engineering Indicators - 1998.
-
National Science Board, Science & Engineering Indicators - 2000.
-
National Science Board, Science & Engineering Indicators - 2002.
-
Statistical Abstract of the United States - 1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000.
Other good sources of information are:
- National Science Foundation, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering:1998.
- National Science Foundation, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering:2000.
- National Science Foundation/Division of Science Resources and Statistics; data from Department of Education/National Center for Education Statistics: Integrated Post Secondary Education Data Completions Survey.
The data contained in these documents is free to the public. These publications are available as .pdf files at
http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/stats.htm
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-us.html
Please be aware that the NSF summary data include a broad definition of Science that includes the Social Sciences, such as Political Science and Psychology.
The SESTAT Data Base (NSF's Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System) located at https://sestat.nsf.gov/sestat/sestat.html allows you to query the data. To learn more about the SESTAT Data Base please read: SESTAT: A Tool for Studying Scientists and Engineers in the United States at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf99337/.
There are many published research articles about the engineering education of women. A good source for this research is ERIC, the world's largest source of education information. The ERIC website is located at http://www.eduref.org. It has over 1,000 abstracts of documents and journal articles referencing women and engineering education research and practice from 1966 through 2001.
The American Association of Engineering Societies: Engineering Workforce Commission conducts several engineering surveys and has several publications. Publications can be purchased via their website: http://www.aaes.org/.
| Undergraduate Enrollment in Engineering by Sex |
| Year |
Male |
Female |
% Female |
| 1979 |
321,868 |
44,431 |
12.1% |
| 1981 |
361,133 |
59,269 |
14.1% |
| 1983 |
372,374 |
68,831 |
15.6% |
| 1984 |
362,800 |
66,699 |
15.5% |
| 1985 |
354,612 |
66,252 |
15.7% |
| 1986 |
344,999 |
62,658 |
15.4% |
| 1987 |
331,917 |
60,281 |
15.4% |
| 1988 |
325,024 |
60,388 |
15.7% |
| 1989 |
318,067 |
60,210 |
15.9% |
| 1990 |
319,506 |
60,781 |
16.0% |
| 1991 |
316,719 |
63,258 |
16.6% |
| 1992 |
316,460 |
66,065 |
17.3% |
| 1993 |
309,412 |
66,532 |
17.7% |
| 1994 |
300,412 |
66,065 |
18.1% |
| 1995 |
296,029 |
67,286 |
18.5% |
| 1996 |
288,559 |
67,618 |
19.0% |
| 1997 |
294,593 |
70,765 |
19.4% |
| 1998 |
294,598 |
72,393 |
19.7% |
| 1999 |
290,019 |
71,376 |
19.8% |
| 2000 |
314,776 |
76,027 |
19.5% |
| 2001 |
331,089 |
78,468 |
19.2% |
| 2002 |
343,226 |
77,952 |
18.5% |
| 2003 |
345,857 |
75,934 |
18.0% |
| 2004 |
345,248 |
74,139 |
17.7% |
| 2005 |
338,747 |
70,579 |
17.2% |
| Source: Science and Engineering Indicators 2000, Volume 2; Appendix Table 4-33. National Science Board, National Science Foundation (Source: Engineering Workforce Commission, Engineering and Technology Enrollments, Fall 1998 (Washington, DC: American Association of Engineering Societies, 1999)). Source: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering, Table B-9. National Science Foundation. (Source: Engineering Workforce Commission, Engineering and Technology Enrollments, Fall 2005 (Washington, DC, 2006)) |
| Earned Bachelors Degrees in Engineering by Sex |
| Year |
Male |
Female |
% Female |
| 1966 |
35,680 |
146 |
.4% |
| 1971 |
44,887 |
361 |
.8% |
| 1975 |
38,979 |
845 |
2.1% |
| 1976 |
39,473 |
1,317 |
3.2% |
| 1977 |
39,313 |
2,044 |
4.9% |
| 1979 |
48,588 |
4,881 |
9.1% |
| 1981 |
56,654 |
7,063 |
11.1% |
| 1983 |
63,018 |
9,652 |
13.3% |
| 1984 |
65,424 |
10,729 |
14.1% |
| 1985 |
66,326 |
11,246 |
14.5% |
| 1986 |
65,682 |
11,138 |
14.5% |
| 1987 |
63,021 |
11,404 |
15.3% |
| 1988 |
59,375 |
10,779 |
15.4% |
| 1989 |
56,759 |
10,188 |
15.2% |
| 1990 |
54,732 |
9,973 |
15.4% |
| 1991 |
52,522 |
9,665 |
15.5% |
| 1992 |
52,305 |
9,636 |
15.6% |
| 1993 |
52,724 |
9,981 |
15.9% |
| 1994 |
52,609 |
10,403 |
16.5% |
| 1995 |
52,421 |
10,950 |
17.3% |
| 1996 |
51,798 |
11,316 |
17.9% |
| 1997 |
50,882 |
11,470 |
18.4% |
| 1998 |
49,575 |
11,339 |
18.6% |
| 2000 |
47,320 |
12,216 |
20.5% |
| 2001 |
47,344 |
11,914 |
20.1% |
| 2002 |
47,952 |
12,687 |
20.9% |
| 2003 |
50,803 |
12,970 |
20.3% |
| 2004 |
51,418 |
13,257 |
20.5% |
| 2005 |
52,936 |
13,197 |
20.0% |
| Source: Science and Engineering Indicators 2000, Volume 2; Appendix Table 4-33. National Science Board, National Science Foundation (Source: Engineering Workforce Commission, Engineering and Technology Enrollments, Fall 1998 (Washington, DC: American Association of Engineering Societies, 1999)). Source: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering, Table C-4. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, special tabulations of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Completions Survey, 1996-2005 |
| Graduate Enrollment in Engineering by Sex |
| Year |
Male |
Female |
% Female |
| 1977 |
64,985 |
3,700 |
5.4% |
| 1979 |
65,852 |
5,876 |
8.2% |
| 1981 |
71,809 |
7,746 |
9.7% |
| 1983 |
81,312 |
9,807 |
10.8% |
| 1985 |
94,911 |
11,080 |
10.5% |
| 1987 |
90,990 |
12,963 |
12.5% |
| 1988 |
89,705 |
13,124 |
12.8% |
| 1989 |
90,443 |
13,600 |
13.1% |
| 1990 |
92,953 |
14,672 |
13.6% |
| 1991 |
97,861
|
15,715 |
13.8% |
| 1992 |
100,802 |
17,233 |
14.6% |
| 1993 |
99,189 |
17,692 |
15.1% |
| 1994 |
95,006 |
18,054 |
16.0% |
| 1995 |
89,377 |
18,152 |
16.9% |
| 1996 |
84,971 |
18,252 |
17.7% |
| 1997 |
82,293 |
18,715 |
18.5% |
| 1998 |
81,050 |
18,988 |
19.0% |
| 1999 |
81,804 |
19,887 |
19.6% |
| 2000 |
83,366 |
20,746 |
19.9% |
| 2001 |
87,236 |
22,257 |
20.3% |
| 2002 |
94,701 |
24,967 |
20.9% |
| 2003 |
99,790 |
27,587 |
21.7% |
| 2004 |
96,294 |
27,272 |
22.1% |
| 2005 |
93,595 |
26,878 |
22.3% |
| Source: Science and Engineering Indicators 2000, Volume 2; Appendix Table 4-21; National Science Board, National Science Foundation (Source: National Science Foundation, Science Resources Studies Division, Graduate Students and Post doctorates in Science and Engineering, Fall 1997, NSF 99-325, Project Officer, Joan Burrelli (Arlington, VA:1999); and previous years of this publication). Source (for years 1998-2005): Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering, Tables D-2 and D-3. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resource Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Post Doctorates in Science and Engineering, 1998-2005 |
| Earned Masters Degrees in Engineering by Sex |
| Year |
Male |
Female |
% Female |
| 1975 |
14,795 |
372 |
2.5% |
| 1977 |
15,314 |
698 |
4.4% |
| 1979 |
14,342 |
937 |
6.1% |
| 1981 |
15,122 |
1,329 |
8.1% |
| 1983 |
17,131 |
1,755 |
9.3% |
| 1984 |
18,045 |
2,100 |
10.4% |
| 1985 |
18,728 |
2,244 |
10.7% |
| 1986 |
18,696 |
2,400 |
11.4% |
| 1987 |
19,300 |
2,770 |
12.6% |
| 1988 |
19,918 |
2,808 |
12.4% |
| 1989 |
20,661 |
3,082 |
13.0% |
| 1990 |
20,726 |
3,269 |
13.6% |
| 1991 |
20,656 |
3,357 |
14.0% |
| 1992 |
21,349 |
3,699 |
14.8% |
| 1993 |
23,570 |
4,094 |
14.8% |
| 1994 |
24,294 |
4,423 |
15.4% |
| 1995 |
23,998 |
4,632 |
16.2% |
| 1996 |
23,009 |
4,752 |
17.1% |
| 1997 |
21,179 |
4,695 |
18.1% |
| 1998 |
20,975 |
5,163 |
19.8% |
| 1999 |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
| 2000 |
20,396 |
5,340 |
20.4% |
| 2001 |
20,895 |
5,628 |
21.2% |
| 2002 |
20,692 |
5,574 |
21.2% |
| 2003 |
23,520 |
6,184 |
20.8% |
| 2004 |
26,737 |
7,135 |
21.1% |
| 2005 |
26,492 |
7,607 |
22.3% |
| Source: Science and Engineering Indicators 2000, Volume 2; Appendix Table 4-33. National Science Board, National Science Foundation (Source: Engineering Workforce Commission, Engineering and Technology Enrollments, Fall 1998 (Washington, DC: American Association of Engineering Societies, 1999)). Source (for years 2000-2005): Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering, Tables E-2 and E-6. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, special tabulations of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Completions Survey, 1996-2005 |
| Earned Doctoral Degrees in Engineering by Sex |
| Year |
Male |
Female |
% Female |
| 1975 |
2,959 |
52 |
1.7% |
| 1977 |
2,574 |
74 |
2.8% |
| 1979 |
2,432 |
62 |
2.5% |
| 1981 |
2,429 |
99 |
3.9% |
| 1983 |
2,657 |
124 |
4.4% |
| 1984 |
2,762 |
151 |
5.2% |
| 1985 |
2,968 |
198 |
6.3% |
| 1986 |
3,151 |
225 |
6.7% |
| 1987 |
3,470 |
242 |
6.5% |
| 1988 |
3,901 |
286 |
6.8% |
| 1989 |
4,168 |
375 |
8.3% |
| 1990 |
4,479 |
415 |
8.5% |
| 1991 |
4,748 |
467 |
9.0% |
| 1992 |
4,932 |
506 |
9.3% |
| 1993 |
5,176 |
522 |
9.2% |
| 1994 |
5,187 |
635 |
10.9% |
| 1995 |
5,313 |
694 |
11.6% |
| 1996 |
5,529 |
776 |
12.3% |
| 1997 |
5,305 |
747 |
12.3% |
| 1998 |
5,115 |
812 |
13.7% |
| 1999 |
4,499 |
829 |
15.6% |
| 2000 |
4,463 |
867 |
16.3% |
| 2001 |
4,568 |
930 |
16.9% |
| 2002 |
4,172 |
891 |
17.6% |
| 2003 |
4,368 |
911 |
17.3% |
| 2004 |
4,754 |
1,021 |
17.7% |
| 2005 |
5,215 |
1,174 |
18.4% |
| Source: Science and Engineering Indicators 2000, Volume 2; Appendix Table 4-33. National Science Board, National Science Foundation (Source: Engineering Workforce Commission, Engineering and Technology Enrollments, Fall 1998 (Washington, DC: American Association of Engineering Societies, 1999)). Source (for years 2001-2005): Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering, Table F-3. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates, 1998-2005 |
|
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