Recent data stemming from the National Center for Education Statistics (2023) and the American Society for Engineering Education (2023) reveal a persistent pattern — women remain underrepresented in tenure-track and tenured engineering faculty roles relative to men in the United States. [1] [2] [3] In 2023, women were underrepresented among senior faculty, with only 36.1% of female engineering faculty being full professors compared to 51.1% of men. The pattern reverses at the entry-level, with 36.0% of women holding assistant professor positions compared with 23.2% of men, highlighting their overrepresentation in early-career roles relative to leadership positions. [1] Despite this early-career presence, women made up only 20.1% of all tenured and tenure-track engineering faculty in the U.S. [1]
When looking across the academic hierarchy, the decline is even steeper. [3] Among doctoral scientists and engineers employed in universities and four-year colleges, women remain underrepresented across academic positions and leadership levels. [2] In 2019, women represented about 36% of deans, department heads, and chairs. [2] Similarly, women represented approximately 36% of research faculty and 37% of teaching faculty. [2] Women had a slightly higher representation among adjunct faculty (42.7%) and postdoctoral researchers (42.6%). [2]
A systematic review of leadership development programs (LDPs) also shows that women’s leadership gaps in academia are shaped less by individual ability and more by structural conditions that constrain advancement over time. [4] [5] Academic research indicates that LDPs and mentoring substantially increase women’s leadership confidence, identity, and access to professional networks. [6] However, impact is strongest when institutions intentionally address workload inequities, performance evaluation bias, and promotion practices, and foster individual growth to translate into sustained leadership growth, drive, and participation. [6]
Rather than relying on a single snapshot in time, SWE’s latest study of the Academic Leadership for Women in Engineering (ALWE) program follows women engineering faculty over time to understand how leadership development shapes careers in academia. The ALWE program is designed to support women engineering faculty by building leadership skills, strengthening professional networks, and helping participants navigate academic systems to advance into leadership roles.
The findings show that when women are given structured leadership training, mentoring, and cross-institutional networks, they develop stronger leadership identities, greater confidence navigating promotion and tenure, and increased readiness to pursue senior roles. Demonstrating — and in line with the academic literature — targeted, career-stage support matters, and it mitigates representation gaps in higher educations, especially in a system where women often stall or exit before reaching full professor or leadership ranks.
For a closer look at SWE’s longitudinal ALWE findings and how the leadership development program supports women engineering faculty in advancing into leadership roles, read ALWE’s full report.
For more data highlighting the underrepresentation of women among tenured and tenure-track engineering faculty in U.S. higher education — particularly at the associate and full professor ranks — visit SWE research.
References
[1] American Society for Engineering Education. (2023).
[3] Society of Women Engineers. (2024). Tenure/Tenure-Track Faculty. SWE.
[7] Southard, M. M. (2024). Gender Bias In Higher Education Leadership (Doctoral dissertation).
