Why There Will Never Be As Many Women As Men in Engineering 

By Sarah van der Waal

Introduction
Why are there so few women in engineering; what can be done to increase the number of women in engineering; should anything be done to increase the number of women in engineering?

When I began engineering I could see no good reason why there weren't as many women in engineering as there were men.  I had a look at both Engineers Australia's and APESMA's web pages dedicated to encouraging more women to take, and succeed in, engineering.  While I thought some of their efforts were good, I felt like something was missing.

After thinking about this, I now think that there will probably never be as many women in engineering as there are men.  This is because, by its nature, some aspects of engineering just do not suit women.

However, if we do want to increase the number of women in engineering, then I think we should focus less on women in engineering, and more on engineering itself.  Particularly, the way it is taught and its reputation in Australian society.

I really can't say I have been disadvantaged purely because I am a woman by other male engineers.  I admit that I only have a certain amount of experience and maybe that is why I haven't experience any chauvinistic attitudes in engineering.  However, I have experienced the effects of slow feedback and sense of accomplishment, a lack of preconditioning and the poor reputation of engineering. These are the issues that I will talk about here.

The nature of engineering - Delayed Feedback
I think that the way engineering (when compared to other jobs) offers a sense of accomplishment is not well suited to women.  Different jobs give different degrees of feedback and sense of achievement, and I think some are much more suited to women than is engineering. 

For example:
Nursing gives instant results and an almost instant sense of achievement because nurses can help patients and see the results straight away.  It doesn't take long to make someone more comfortable or administer drugs.  The average stay for a patient is also relatively short so you quickly get to see the results of your efforts.  It is also very clear that you have helped somebody, as they are right there in front of you.

Teaching also offers a more immediate sense of accomplishment.   Teachers can see how they have helped students learn something new each day.  They also see students grow and move on every year.  Consider the number of students in a single class.  This could easily add up to a huge sense of accomplishment if you are able to help each student every day.  Once again, as is the case with nursing, it is very clear you have helped someone and made a contribution.

Engineering, on the other hand, typically has long drawn out projects.  The average new car typically takes 4 years to develop.  Think about how long it takes for a bridge or highway to be made.  Most engineers have to wait a long time to see the final outcome of their efforts.  In addition, they need to rely on their sense of logic to fully appreciate their contribution.

This struck me recently during my IBL employment.  I worked on several relatively short product design and development projects; however, I am yet to see results due to the drawn out manufacturing phase which is still ongoing at this time.  I know I have done something worthwhile, but I need to really think about it to get the sense of accomplishment.  In comparison, the men I worked with seemed to have no trouble gaining this same sense.

I know from my own experiences as a woman, and obviously having many female friends, that women do typically prefer to work in an environment where results are seen quickly.  In contrast, men seem (to me) to be happy in jobs where they need to be able to visualise what they are working towards for extended periods. 

Additionally, when I think about my female friends from high school who also chose higher education, I realise that they typically chose health sciences, child care, teaching and nursing.  When I then think about their personalities, I know that they are the kinds of people who want to help, but prefer to help a person who is physically in front of them, and whom they are able to help immediately.  As far as I can tell, this is what most women are like.

When I consider all this, I am not surprised that we see many more women in the nursing and teaching professions than we do men.

Someone once said to me that civil engineers have saved more lives than doctors by designing and constructing public sanitation systems.  These systems significantly reduce various water born diseases that can have a serious effect on public health.  I can see how this would work and I imagine that you can too.  I would think almost all engineers can see, although in a more abstract manner, the effect that they have on society.  However, I don't think everyone can.  I honestly think men are better at doing this than women because women seem to me, as I mentioned above, to prefer an immediate sense of helping.  Therefore, even though it is clear (logically) that engineers do a huge amount for society, it doesn't mean that everyone will feel a sense of accomplishment if they work as an engineer.

I think this (the delayed and abstract sense of achievement offered by engineering) is a major reason why there are not many women in engineering. 

I don't know if this characteristic of women is genetic or cultural, but I don't think it will change soon.  I'm also pretty sure you can't change engineering into a job that will give instant feedback. 

Therefore, I think this is a characteristic of engineering that will always limit how many females will take engineering on as a profession. And we will therefore probably never see as many women in engineering as men.

I would like to finish the section with an anecdote. I recall the first woman I met who was a qualified engineer. She also had experience in the same area that I am interested in, product development.  And, like me, she was a mechanical engineer.  When I met her she had left engineering and she had become a high school teacher. She had moved from a job of delayed feedback to one of near instant feedback.

Preconditioning - The cultural advantage that SOME boys have
‘Preconditioning' is an issue often ignored.  I don't know if this is the right word for the phenomenon I am about to discuss, but it is the word I will use here.  I believe the preconditioning is cultural.

Typically, men fix things and boys tend to follow their fathers around.  Thus, they too get exposed to fixing things.  This naturally imprints upon them.  This gives them an intuitive understanding of how to fix things and I think it also generates an interest in how things work.  This is what I mean by preconditioning.  I think having an interest in, and understanding of, how things work makes boys more inclined to choose engineering.

Another aspect of preconditioning is the car magazine.  Before I started engineering, I thought that they were just full of photos of cars.  I now know that they are full of useful information that helps to precondition their readers.  I've only recently found out that these magazines contain technical tips sections.  These sections talk about things like:

• thermodynamics and fluid mechanics of internal combustion engines,
• machine systems such as clutches,
• dynamics of vehicles,
• linkage systems found in car suspensions,
• mechatronic systems used to control car performance,
• tribological phenomena in car tyres and engine bearings,
• material properties and material processing for engine components.

You can imagine how reading about these topics introduces most of the topics in an engineering degree (especially mechanical).  These readers have read about these engineering theories in a real life and practical context, and can see the practical application.  Due to this, they have gained a valuable head start.  In addition, they find learning more interesting because they have seen the practical application, which in turn, makes learning engineering much easier and more effective. 

Girls just don't typically read these magazines.  I know I didn't and I can't remember any friends that did. 

So due to the nature of our culture, boys will always be more likely to have been preconditioned for engineering than would girls.

The key issue preconditioning, that I have noticed, is that lecturers, who are predominantly men, think all their students already know about the many mechanisms that are already in existence (that they are preconditioned) and use these mechanisms to explain theoretical concepts.  This puts many female students (like me) at a disadvantage from the beginning.  Therefore, when the lecturer is explaining things, male student will typically have an advantage over female students.

Even though this is cultural, I don't think it's going to change any time soon, and one would expect that girls will continue to have a disadvantage due to this unless universities account for this in their engineering educational programs.

However, this difference might be reducing, which introduces new issues.

Today modern technology is changing how people go about fixing things.  Products are becoming more complex.  Combined with the rising number of office jobs and increased division of labour, there is now less time to spend fixing our own things.  It is now more time and cost effective to get a specialist in to fix something when it breaks down. 

Many more people are also moving into cities; therefore, there is less space to store tools and machines for fixing things.  This means that fewer people will have the kind of exposure and preconditioning discussed above. 

Although in the future some students will still have preconditioning, the number will be far fewer than today or in the past.  This might lead to a drop in engineering student applications overall.  It also means that in the future there will still be female students without preconditioning as well as a larger portion of male students also without preconditioning. 

Therefore, universities are going to have to start accounting for a reduction in preconditioning not only for female students but for all students. This introduces the issue of the failing education system.

Failing Education System - where is design?
I think that, unfortunately, the engineering education system is actually getting worse when it comes to accounting for preconditioning. 

Therefore, if lecturers are going to assume preconditioning, then more effort needs to be put into compensating for the lack of preconditioning.  I think the best options are: focusing on good engineering design subjects and effective Industry Based Learning.

Based on conversations I've had with older engineers and considering my own course, engineering courses are focusing less on design subjects and more on engineering sciences then they used to.  There also seems to be a decreasing emphasise spent on teaching the practical applications of scientific knowledge (I think this should be a key part of design). 

The design subjects are the ones that have the most potential to compensate for the lack of preconditioning that I mentioned above.  Because design subjects should encourage the application of engineering science knowledge in real life situations, they emulate this precondemning, and students are given a chance to see the theory in action.  This makes learning easier.  Therefore, if an engineering degree has a strong design focus, regardless of a student's background and preconditioning, they will gain a sound comprehension of the application of engineering science theory.  

This would not only make it easier for women, who typically lack preconditioning, but it would also benefit all students who have a natural ability in engineering but who were not exposed to any preconditioning.  As I mentioned above, this number will only rise further.

IBL could also help compensate for a lack of preconditioning; however, IBL often does not run as well as I think it should.  IBL is meant to give students the opportunity to see how engineering theory is applied in practise.  I was lucky.  I was expected to apply engineering theory to a number of designs for new products.  This made me think differently.  I now have a much greater appreciation for engineering theory and its practical application.  When I return to my studies I will be much more motivated to gain a deep understanding of engineering principles.  Effectively, I now feel like I have at least some preconditioning.  This will make my education a lot more enjoyable.  I am therefore more likely to complete my engineering education. 

If I had been exposed to this earlier or even before my course, I would have, more likely, paid more attention in class and learnt more effectively.  Not only that, if the students who I studied with in earlier levels who have since dropped out, had earlier been exposed to an IBL experience like mine, then they too would have been much more likely to stay on and complete the course as well.

Unfortunately, few have such good IBL experiences.   I have friends who struggled to find work to occupy them throughout the day when they were on IBL.  IBL, also, often just comes too late in the course.

I realise IBL can't be run too early.  Therefore, I think it is best to focus on effective engineering design subjects and practical application of knowledge to compensate for any lack of preconditioning.  Then, when students are able to go on IBL they are better prepared to do meaningful work and get a better experience.

Such efforts will improve engineering education, the quality of engineering practice and make engineering more accessible to everyone (including girls). But still, people need to want to choose engineering.

Reputation
I think that the perception of engineering by Australian culture is different to the perception held by other cultures.  Australians seem to have little knowledge about what engineers do; they also don't seem to care.  Everyone knows what doctors, lawyers, police officers, plumbers and so on do, but ask an Australian what an engineer does and you'll receive a vague and ill-informed explanation.  For example, I've now lost track of how many times after I answer ‘mechanical engineering' to people's questions about what I'm studying that I've received the response, ‘oh so you'll fix cars?'

Many people have to go out of their way to find information about engineering.  By sheer luck during the period in which I was studying my VCE an international student who studied engineering came to board with my family.  Had this girl not been staying with us, I may have never known that engineers existed, and chosen a different course to pursue.  For this reason you can be sure only a certain type of person will find themselves studying engineering, those who seek out the information themselves (typically those who are preconditioned) or the lucky ones, like me, who stumble across it just in time.

One thing I have noticed about the women who do study in my course is that they are often international or from other (non-Australian) cultures.  In a majority of other countries engineering seems to be regarded as highly as any other profession, and its importance to society is fully recognised.  Thus, the women in these cultures are more likely to consider and choose engineering.  This just doesn't seem to be the case in Australia. 

If the reputation of engineering in Australia was greater, then, I think you would see more people, including women, considering engineering as a career option. Thus, once again, by focusing on engineering itself instead of women in engineering, I think you will see more women consider engineering as a career.

Conclusion
I think we should accept that there will not be as many women in engineering, much like nursing will probably never have as many men.  I think this is so because I don't think the nature of women requiring feedback is going to change anytime soon.

However, the situation can be improved by focusing on those issues that are within our control.  That is the preconditioning of engineering students and the reputation of engineering.

Without preconditioning, potential students need to know that they will actually be taught or how they will be trained to be engineers.  Therefore, to get the brightest students regardless of background (be it sex or lifestyle) the practical application of engineering knowledge (what some people refer to as the wisdom or art of engineering) must be an integral part of all engineering degrees.  I think this would require strong design subjects (with very practical components) and effective IBL.

As I mentioned when discussing the reputation of engineering, only those people who are already preconditioned are likely to seek out engineering as a career option (this group comprises mostly of boys, but is reducing due to changes in modern life style).  If we improve the reputation of engineering, then more people will know about engineering and consider it a viable career option.

Neither of these two issues (compensating for preconditioning and engineering's reputation) is explicitly related to female students.  Therefore, paradoxically, to increase the number of female engineering students we need to focus less on the female students themselves, and focus instead on the quality of education and reputation of engineers.

In summary, I think there will never be as many women as men in engineering, but to increase the number of women in engineering we need to focus more on the quality of engineering and not on women.

Sarah van der Waal is a mechanical engineering student at RMIT and one of the earliest members of Ingeneers Network Australia. She was asked for her thoughts on the topic of women in engineering.

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