Halah Abd Al-Nour

Work–family conflict (WFC) is a worldwide and timeless dilemma that negatively and significantly impacts the performance of employees, families, and organizations. It intensifies when the career is engineering, the employee is female, and the job environment requires heavy-duty and field tasks. The present study investigates the WFC in an engineering environment for female engineers and studies many women-related issues in Yemen. Three questionnaires targeted 130 female engineer graduates, 60 senior engineers, and 20 female engineers’ husbands. The results indicated that marriage is strongly and negatively correlated to educational performance, job opportunities, and job continuity. The present study suggests that, in conservative societies, disruptions from family-to-work are more pronounced compared to work-to-family. Several external factors, including low stipends, economic downturns, and political crises, have a negative impact on job opportunities and job spillover. A significant finding revealed that the average wage of female engineers in Yemen is USD 145, which is 3.822 times lower than that of their male counterparts. The survey results indicated that only single female engineers, but not married female engineers, are currently employed in the industrial and construction sector. Most female engineering graduates are working in jobs unrelated to engineering. Employed females face balancing professional responsibilities, household tasks, and social commitments. Society needs to implement policies that alleviate the pressure on women’s work and promote and support dual-earning couples to enhance family income. The present study recommends organizations offer flexible work schedules, allow remote work options, and create a healthy work environment to address the work–family imbalance, particularly in male-dominated environments.

Typically, the underrepresentation of female engineers in education, employment, and leadership is a worldwide social issue. The present study investigates the critical employment challenges and barriers for female engineers in Yemeni’s unstable, conservative, and poor society. The quantitative methodology was based on two constructed questionnaires targeting female engineering graduates from 2012 to 2021 at Taiz University and executive HR managers. The results indicated that the ongoing civil war, employability attributes, personal attitudes, low wages, the conservative society, and marriage–family beliefs are the most apparent barriers to female engineers’ employment in Yemen. Nearly 40% of female engineers are frustrated with not having a job, almost the same percentage stopped seeking a job, and about two-thirds did not register with government employment offices. This study prompts engineering colleges to frequently update their programs to cope with rapid developments and to include employability courses in their curricula. Furthermore, this study advises female engineers to consult experts before enrolling in engineering programs and to practice training and employability skills immediately after graduation. We want to encourage such social studies in Yemen that are concerned with female issues to underpin their participation in society and to make use of unutilized resources.