Engineering Education For Women

Engineering education for women is out there, so why don’t more women take it up? Maybe they just need to know that they can.

Women can make excellent engineers. In Great Britain during the Second World War, women were drafted into the factories and engineering works, keeping the wheels of industry turning and supplying their men folk with much needed equipment on the front line, and do you know what? Many of them were rather good at it. Of course, as soon as the war was over, the men went back to the factories and the women went back to the kitchen sink, that’s life. But is it? Why shouldn’t the engineering industry be open to more women? Well, technically it is. There is no logical reason why more women shouldn’t become engineers, or is there?

Opening Up Engineering Education for Women

Many schools have invisible barriers which dissuade women from entering engineering education, and they don’t even know that they are doing it. Rather than trying to make the women fit in with the male environment, one school of thought is for professors and employers alike to strive to create an environment which includes women, as women do generally have a different, but no less effective, style of working. By believing (well, being brainwashed mostly) that they have achieved good math and science results from hard work rather than talent, many women opt out of these subjects at the first given opportunity, and who can blame them. If you think you can’t do something, chances are you’re right! Many women lack sheer confidence in their abilities to compete in such a male dominated profession.

Women on the Work Floor

Now, let’s not kid ourselves, we all know women who can be as assertive and competitive as any men out there, but very often they do have a different approach which can hamper their success in such a male dominated environment. Styles of communication can differ widely between the sexes. Men will often try to lead the way in a discussion, whereas most women are glad to share opinions and not be quite so pushy. Likewise, many women tend to make the best of the resources they are given, whereas men as more likely to ask for more resources if they deem them necessary. As such, very often the women are simply cast aside when it comes to important decisions and projects, though it’s certainly not through lack of talent or ability.

Encouraging more Women in Engineering Education

Professors do have the ability to reduce the present gender gap in engineering education. By implementing just a few subtle changes to their working patterns, by encouraging the women students to be forthcoming with ideas and seeking advice, they can be encouraged to become extremely well qualified and worthwhile engineers, fit to take on the best of the world in this competitive, male dominated field.