Iranian Women Engineers’ Experiences in Male-Dominated Workplaces and Adaptation Strategies: Juggling Between Doing and Undoing Gender

This study explores the experiences of Iranian women engineers in industrial workplaces and investigates the mechanisms contributing to their exclusion from such environments. Data were collected through interviews with 26 women engineers employed in various industrial sectors using purposive sampling to ensure maximum diversity. The findings reveal that Iranian women engineers encounter a "male-dominated engineering culture" and adopt two primary strategies to navigate this context: adopting typically masculine traits and intensifying traditionally feminine characteristics that align with industrial expectations. A distinctive factor shaping the experience of women engineers in Iran is the pervasive patriarchal culture within state-owned industries, which comprise a significant portion of the country's large-scale enterprises. Additionally, as Iran remains in a transitional phase of industrialization, its industries continue to emphasize manual labor and prioritize "wrench-in-hand" workers over highly skilled professionals.