The outline of this research is as follows. In Chapter two, the relevant literature is reviewed, analyzed and discussed. The first section in chapter two addresses occupational commitment, definitions of occupational commitment, the relevance of occupational commitment for women who work in STEM industries and finally, Meyer’s three-dimensional model is discussed. Also, in Chapter two, the theoretical framework based on social cognitive career-theory (SCCT) is presented. Variables of the SCCT are explained in a detailed section on self-efficacy and mentors as contextual supporters. Then, protean attitude is discussed followed by the statement of hypotheses of the thesis research. Chapter two ends with a summary of the main concepts examined.
In Chapter three, the methodology and mixed methods research design is presented together with a figure illustrating the overall design of the empirical research. The core component is the qualitative research in phase1. The qualitative methods are explained including the issues of data collection and sampling. Then, the quantitative section of Chapter three explains the data collection and the sampling approach adopted in the second phase of the study. Chapter three explains the methods of data analysis for phase 1 followed by the data analysis for phase 2.
In Chapter four, the results of the qualitative study (phase 1) are presented. Chapter five presents preliminary information and analysis related to the quantitative data.
Chapter six reports and analyses the results of the quantitative (phase 2) study. Using the Gioia methodology, the analysis of the interview data sets reveals 54 first order concepts that result in fifteen second order themes which are further distilled into four aggregate dimensions. Internal drivers which contained coping self-efficacy and
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new concepts from the literature review thematic analysis such as professional identity and personal learning development is the first dimension. Occupational commitment, the second aggregate dimension contains normative, affective and continuance occupational commitment. The third dimension is contextual supporters that refer to mentoring functions and the quality of the mentoring relation. The last dimension is the barriers. The findings of the quantitative analysis support the hypotheses Mentoring has a positive impact on occupational commitment. Coping self-efficacy has a positive impact on occupational commitment. In addition, goal setting mediates the relationship between coping self-efficacy and occupational commitment. A summary of the main findings of the research is presented at the end of Chapters four and six.
Chapter seven presents the main overall findings for the mixed methods research and discusses the contributions to the literature. The findings of both the qualitative, as the core component, and the quantitative, as the supplementary component, analysis indicate the important roles that mentoring and coping self-efficacy play in strengthening occupational commitment. The main contribution to knowledge that this research offers is by indicating the importance of three aspects in strengthening the occupational commitment of women in STEM fields. These aspects are mentoring as a contextual factor, self-efficacy as an internal driver, and protean attitude. At the end of chapter seven a summary of the thesis is also presented.
Finally, in Chapter eight the recommendations, limitations, and conclusion are presented. Renewed understandings have been discussed in this research relating to the role of some identified internal drivers (coping self-efficacy, protean attitude, professional identity, personal learning development) and contextual supports (mentoring) on females’ occupational commitment as a minority in STEM fields.
The core component research design for this study is qualitative research, therefore,
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it is important to note that as a multiple case study design, this research investigated a specific number of participants (Yin 2009) and thus may not be representative of a whole population. Females in STEM struggle with lack of availability of mentoring programs within their organizations. Future research could highlight the importance of mentoring programs that could benefit both the mentee and the organization in general. This may motivate organizations to adopt more mentoring programs that will aid in attaining and retaining women in STEM fields.
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CHAPTER TWO
Literature Review and Development of Research Hypotheses
The under-representation of women in STEM industries has been a major issue of investigation for many scholars (Sassler et al. 2017). While figures show an increasing number of females graduating from STEM majors over the last three decades, women’s participation in the workplace is still lagging (Michelmore &
Sassler 2016) despite the high salaries offered in these industries and the increasing job opportunities (Xie & Killewald 2012). The number of females graduating from STEM majors has increased from 23% in the 1980s to around 50% in 2010 (National Science Foundation 2013). In the workplace, women’s representation has slightly increased to around 12% in the Engineering field (Corbett & Hill 2015), is decreasing in Computer Science (Hill 2015, Michelmore & Sassler 2016), and remains stagnant since the 1980s in other STEM industries (Diprete & Buchman 2013).
Many interpretations have been put forward, amongst the vast literature, attempting to explain the under-representation of women in STEM. Some studies explained that women show less interest in STEM subjects and thus are less likely to pursue STEM majors and careers later on in their lives (Morgan et al. 2013). Others have referred to gender variations in work expectations and the role of gender ideology in forming both men and women’s employment aspirations. Such studies indicate that attitudes concerning family responsibilities guide females’ career decisions in many significant ways (Michelmore & Musick 2014). Another group of researchers deviated their attention to the demand side and focused on the discriminating recruitment processes. Drawing from the expectations theory, they argued that employers’ biased evaluations and presumptions prevent women from receiving job offers or promotions which ultimately lead to gender segregation (Kmec 2011).
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Persisting prevalent impressions that women are not as committed to their work as men also lead to biased assessments of females’ expertise and abilities where they end up missing on promotions, challenging job offers, or equal pay (Reuben et al.
2014).
A large amount of literature has been investigating females’ under-representation in STEM majors in comparison to occupational settings where the leaky pipeline is still a major concern. Most of the studies conducted on females in STEM vocations have dealt with examining the barriers and challenges females face in the workplace and the reasons that cause them to leave these industries (Glass et al. 2013, Singh et al.
2013). This study attempts to understand the issue of female under-representation in STEM industries from a different perspective. The focus is on the women who are committing and persisting in their occupations while the majority are not. The study aims to heighten the attention on contextual support variables and the process elements of commitment amid the slow progress in reducing the occupational segregation gap (Mandel & Semyonov 2014). A considerable amount of research has emphasized the need for further understandings of the factors retaining to gender occupational inequality in STEM fields in order to implement change and attempt to narrow the gap (Glass et al. 2013, Morgan et al. 2013, Mann & Diprete 2013, Michelmore & Sassler 2016). This chapter starts by discussing occupational commitment and its increasing importance amid increasing organizational change and educational levels. Occupational commitment is discussed in relation to women in STEM and the current issue of the leaky pipeline. The second part of the chapter includes an in-depth presentation of the theoretical framework. It also contains detailed explanations on each variable; namely, coping self-efficacy, mentoring, and occupational commitment, as presented in Meyer’s three-dimensional model.
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Finally, a summary is included at the end of the chapter recapping the research gap and the main aim of the study, as well as presenting the conceptual model.