Women are significantly underrepresented in engineering programmes across the Pacific region. This paper develops a taxonomy of challenges encountered by female engineering students during their studies in this context. An initial list of 46 challenges was compiled through Talanoa (dialogue) with students, a review of relevant literature, and the authors’ professional experiences. These challenges were then classified using the open card sorting (OCS) technique, involving 47 female engineering students. OCS is a well‑established method for examining how individuals understand and categorise information. Analysis of the OCS data resulted in the development of a taxonomy comprising five key challenge areas: (i) unfair workplace climate and career inequity; (ii) psychological burden and threats to self‑efficacy; (iii) peer exclusion and marginalisation within male‑dominated environments; (iv) socio‑cultural role conflict; and (v) the absence of female role models and mentorship. The resulting taxonomy is intended to support the design and evaluation of interventions aimed at reducing barriers faced by female engineering students in the Pacific region. Although grounded in the Pacific context, the taxonomy may also be applicable to other regions where women remain underrepresented in engineering.