Journal of Business and Technical Communication Oct 2017

Writing and Women’s Retention in Engineering

Jennifer C. Mallette Boise State University

Abstract

Engineering disciplines have focused on recruiting and retaining women, assessing factors that contribute to decisions to enter or exit the field at every level. While many studies have examined writing in engineering disciplines, few have looked at writing’s role in women’s decisions to remain in or leave engineering. Using a case study of a professional civil engineer, Katy, this study examines the role that writing played in her dissatisfaction with engineering and her ultimate decision to leave the field. The author analyzes two genres of writing, meeting minutes and a preliminary engineering report, to explore how Katy’s writing practices often ran counter to her coworkers’ or supervisors’ approaches. While a single case study makes generalization impossible, this work opens the door to future research that accounts for writing in recruiting and retaining women.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2017-10-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651917713253
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
genre theory qualitative research
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Mallette (2024)
    Listening, Reflecting, and Learning: A Methodology for Engineering Communicatio…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. McCall (2021)
    Getting the Story Straight: How Conflicting Narratives about Communication Impa…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Weedon (2020)
    Emotion and the Economy of Genre in a Design Presentation
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Durst (2019)
    Disciplinarity and Literate Activity in Civil and Environmental Engineering: A …
    Written Communication

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CrossRef global citation count: 12 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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