Establishing the Relative Importance of Specific Sustainability Themes That Influence Women’s Choice of Engineering as a Career Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process

Ibifuro Ken-Giami, Sarinova Simandjuntak, Linda Yang, Ann Coats and David Sanders
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Ibifuro Ken-Giami: School of Mechanical and Design Engineering, Faculty of Technology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3DJ, UK
Sarinova Simandjuntak: School of Mechanical and Design Engineering, Faculty of Technology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3DJ, UK
Linda Yang: School of Computing, Faculty of Technology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3DJ, UK
Ann Coats: School of Civil Engineering and Surveying, Faculty of Technology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3AH, UK
David Sanders: School of Mechanical and Design Engineering, Faculty of Technology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3DJ, UK

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-26

Abstract: Understanding the importance of salient factors associated with sustainability challenges that engineers are known to solve in influencing women’s choice of engineering is particularly important in this present world where a combination of these sustainability issues, the underrepresentation of women and the need for more engineers remain a challenge to the profession. However, little is known about the degree of importance of more detailed themes within the social, environmental and economic sustainability pillars in such career decisions. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to understand the relative importance of specific sustainability-themed factors influencing women’s choice of engineering, using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). An AHP structurally designed online survey was used to gather and analyze data from a sample of 414 UK and Nigeria respondents. The results showed that of all the ten sustainability-themed factors examined in this study, water quality/quantity, climate change, waste management, biodiversity, and material consumption/energy use, had a greater influence on the respondents’ choice of engineering relative to other factors. The data revealed specific rather than general sustainability themes that appeal to women’s choice of engineering. This could offer valuable insight from a recruitment strategy perspective to help engineering stakeholders to focus their attention and recruitment efforts on the most salient areas of influence.

Keywords: sustainability themes; analytical hierarchy process (AHP); women’s career choice; engineering; SDGs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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