Gendered boundaries: Using a “Boundary” metaphor to understand faculty members’ descriptions of engineering

Abstract

Programs and theories that form around women's underrepresentation in engineering tend to use pipeline or chilly climate metaphors for their theoretical foundation. This paper investigates a metaphor new to engineers, that of "boundaries," to help make visible the disciplinary work engineering faculty members regularly do that could construct academic engineering as a gendered field. Through quotations drawn from an interview-based study of 10 engineering faculty members, I explore ideas of boundary language and work, and suggest ways in which the conceptual boundary of engineering can be interpreted as gendered. This paper provides CSET audiences with a new "tool to think with" when considering gender in engineering.

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