The underrepresentation of women in engineering is a significant concern. This study applies the
social cognitive theory and the social career cognitive theory (SCCT) to investigate gender
differences in engineering career choices. We examined reasons given by 19 systems engineers
and 330 undergraduate engineering students for choosing engineering and categorizing them
according to SCCT themes. We compared the distribution of reasons across themes and
categories by career stage and gender. For engineers, the category self-efficacy correlated
significantly with challenges and opportunities and current job suitability categories, and women
engineers cited challenges mainly with work-life balance and the gender glass ceiling.
Undergraduate students cited personal reasons more frequently than environmental ones, with
behavioral reasons being the least common. The extended SCCT model includes the categories
challenges and opportunities and current job suitability within the behavioral theme, with the latter
pertaining specifically to career retention. This research provides insights into gender-dependent
engineering career choice and retention by expanding the set of SCCT categories.
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