Women and Engineering

Within living memory, young women who have wanted to study engineering faced such dissent that in 1955, Penn State’s dean of engineering declared, “Women are NOT for engineering,” asserting that all but a few “unusual women” lacked the “basic capabilities” necessary to succeed in this profession (Bix par. 2). Although the number of women in social sciences and humanities has grown steadily, women remain underrepresented in science and engineering. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that “women remain underrepresented in engineering constituting only 10 percent of full-time employed engineers and 7.7 percent of engineering managers...” Although this is the case, social norms, culture and attitudes play a significant role in undermining the role of women in the aforementioned fields in addition to the gendered persistence and their individual confidence in their ability to fulfill engineering roles.

In many cases, women’s achievements are measured according to male oriented standards. I would like to argue with a more diverse approach to this cause. If humanity is comprised of both men and women, and we are equally dependent on each other for humanity’s survival, why are men and women not viewed as equals? These old attitudes are drilled into us from birth. If boys were taught mutual respect as they grew up, gender equality becomes a natural way of life. In the same way girls would need to be taught to set high goals; that they can reach as high as humanly possible. Unfortunately, typically male values and traditions have, over time, shaped the culture in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) fields. This has created, in many ways, a hostile learning and working environment for women. From time immemorial, women have been regarde...

... middle of paper ...

... Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Print. 2011.

Carol B. Muller, “The Underrepresentation of Women in Engineering and Related Sciences: Pursuing Two Complementary Paths to Parity.” National Academies Press (US); Web. 2003.

Erin Cech, Brian Rubineau, Susan Silbey, Caroll Seron “Professional Role Confidence and Gendered Persistence in Engineering”, American Sociological Review. Print. 2011.

Kathleen Buse, Diana Bilimoria, Sheri Perelli, "Why they Stay: Women Persisting in US engineering careers". Career Development International, 18 (2013): 2. Print.

Presser, Harriet B. “Job, Family, and Gender: Determinants of Nonstandard Work Schedules Among Employed Americans in 1991.” Demography 32 (4): 577–598. JSTORhost. Web. May 19, 2013

Zuckerman, Harriet, Jonathan Cole and John Bruer (eds.)” The Outer Circle: Women in the Scientific Community” New York: Norton, Print. 1991