Ethical and equity challenges in engineering: a reflexive thematic analysis of early-career engineers' workplace experiences

Abstract

Society and engineering are inseparable, with engineers' work significantly impacting society. Engineering has a large role in building a sustainable society, and prioritizing ethics and equity is essential. The early stages of an engineer's career are important for shaping professionals who uphold ethical values and champion equity. Understanding how early-career engineers perceive ethical and equity issues in their workplaces is key to fostering ethically conscious and equity-minded engineers capable of navigating evolving roles and responsibilities. This research aims to understand early-career engineers' experiences navigating ethical dilemmas and equity challenges in their professional practices and the implications these experiences have for their professional development. The overall research design of this study is basic qualitative research. Through the analysis of interviews with 13 participants from North America using reflexive thematic analysis (RTA), four key themes were developed that describe early-career engineers' experiences with ethics and equity as they transition to professional practice. The first theme is that schools do not fully prepare early-career engineers when it comes to ethical and equity practices. This includes teaching about simplified concepts, lacking comprehensive preparation, and recognizing that some skills can't be learned in school. The second theme is that characteristics of individual workplaces shape the early-career experiences of engineers. This theme emphasizes how leadership, work culture, exclusionary practices, company policies, and the principle that companies' actions speak louder than words, shape engineers' professional experiences. The third theme, ethical decision-making influences, and processes, explores the pressures that can lead to unethical actions, the importance of policies, rules, and oversight to support ethical decisions, the challenges of managing competing priorities, and the dilemmas of acting on equity issues. The fourth theme about the self-confidence and self-worth of early career engineers underscores the importance of self-confidence, speaking up, asking questions, and knowing one's value. The formative experiences of early-career engineers can profoundly impact their ethical reasoning and commitment to equitable practices throughout their careers. Understanding how early-career engineers engage with these issues is important for developing educational programs, such as case studies and professional systems that support ethical and equitable engineering.