Por que tão poucas? Análise do efeito tesoura e leaky pipeline na carreira de mulheres pesquisadoras na engenharia

Abstract

Gender inequality is a persistent challenge in academia, with systemic biases and effects that hinder the careers of professionals who identify as women around the world. This scenario is even more critical in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), historically male-dominated environments. This research aims to quantify the participation of women in engineering and analyze gender disparities in Brazilian graduate programs (PPGs) in engineering. For this purpose, we used reports from CAPES (Sucupira Platform, from 2013) and CNPq (calls for Research Productivity Grants – PQs, from 2017) to obtain lists of faculty members and students registered in Brazilian PPGs, as well as current and former PQ holders. Subsequently, we analyzed the proportion of master’s and doctoral students and faculty by gender in Brazilian PPGs over a 10-year period, by major field and by Brazilian region. Additional analyses included the advisor-advisee gender pairing ratio, the distribution of PQ grants, and the renewal and progression rates of PQ grants by sex. The study revealed an underrepresentation of women among faculty in engineering PPGs in Brazil (with female averages of 37% among master's students, 36% among doctoral students, and only 22% among faculty). The engineering fields with the greatest gender disparity are Engineering III (Mechanical, Production, Naval and Oceanic, and Aerospace) and Engineering IV (Electrical and Biomedical). Moreover, over the 10-year period analyzed, no significant trends of change were observed, indicating a discrepant and stagnant scenario. A statistical analysis was also conducted on the productivity metrics of PQ holders in Civil Engineering, revealing that, even with similar academic trajectories, men are more frequently classified in higher categories. This study highlights the strong presence of the Scissor Effect and Leaky Pipeline phenomena in the careers of women researchers in engineering. The findings reinforce the urgent need for structural and cultural changes within academic institutions to promote gender equity and support the advancement of women in science and technology.