Abstract Historically, engineering has been known as a man’s club, with there being few women in the profession. Over the years, the number of women in the engineering field has increased. However, the number of men entering engineering has followed the same trend. This gender gap may have been caused by the different influences that are in a female’s life, different educational experiences that males and females experienced, and when females have little to no professional confidence in their abilities, hindering them from going into engineering. These experiences may have contributed to the lack of females that are entering and are currently in the engineering field. There is a couple of improvements that can be made in order to improve the
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Yet, there are more females being attracted to the biological sciences (such as biology, and a smaller amount of female students taking the “engineering” related courses (such as calculus, and physics) in high school (“Statistic s”, 2012). This can be the result of the type of exposure females had courses in mathematics and sciences, causing for their interest in engineering to decrease. In the very early years of a university student’s scholastic career, they gain an exposure to the areas of mathematics and the sciences. During these early stages, students are able to form their own opinions, and can potentially gain interest in these areas, with the possibility of studying in these areas further. Yet, the gender gap in the areas of math and science begin to increase as the educational years go on, with fewer women studying in these areas (Corporate Planning and Policy Directorate, 2010, p. 3). This could have resulted in the lack of STEM curricula being taught in schools, as these subjects are historically geared towards male students, causing females to lose interest in the STEM subject areas much earlier than males do (Crawford, 2012). This may cause for the gender gap in engineering to increase as more males are entering the field, while women are steering away due to the lack of interest in the subject …show more content…
(“Percentage of Female Undergraduates in Engineering (Canada)”,n.d.). There is a significant gender gap in engineering, yet there is not enough being done in order to attract more females to the engineering field. However there is a few improvements that can be done to attract women to the engineering field, and close the gender gap. For example, promoting engineering related courses, and engaging girls from a younger age can potentially trigger an interest in engineering, and allow for them to build the necessary skills that are required to engage in an engineering related degree. However, this must begin with the teacher that the student may have. If a student were to have a teacher who is passionate and knowledgeable in the area of engineering, this may provide the student with a role model in the area based on their knowledge, and inspire the student to engage in engineering related post-secondary studies (Metz, 2011). By promoting engineering at a younger age, it can allow for girls to experiment and tinker with the foundations that are being taught to them, building their confidence in their abilities, and hopefully inspire them to choose an engineering career (Casey, 2015). Another improvement could be the introduction of non-traditional toys to girls with the intention of directing
Yet, there are more females being attracted to the biological sciences (such as biology, and a smaller amount of female students taking the “engineering” related courses (such as calculus, and physics) in high school (“Statistic s”, 2012). This can be the result of the type of exposure females had courses in mathematics and sciences, causing for their interest in engineering to decrease. In the very early years of a university student’s scholastic career, they gain an exposure to the areas of mathematics and the sciences. During these early stages, students are able to form their own opinions, and can potentially gain interest in these areas, with the possibility of studying in these areas further. Yet, the gender gap in the areas of math and science begin to increase as the educational years go on, with fewer women studying in these areas (Corporate Planning and Policy Directorate, 2010, p. 3). This could have resulted in the lack of STEM curricula being taught in schools, as these subjects are historically geared towards male students, causing females to lose interest in the STEM subject areas much earlier than males do (Crawford, 2012). This may cause for the gender gap in engineering to increase as more males are entering the field, while women are steering away due to the lack of interest in the subject …show more content…
(“Percentage of Female Undergraduates in Engineering (Canada)”,n.d.). There is a significant gender gap in engineering, yet there is not enough being done in order to attract more females to the engineering field. However there is a few improvements that can be done to attract women to the engineering field, and close the gender gap. For example, promoting engineering related courses, and engaging girls from a younger age can potentially trigger an interest in engineering, and allow for them to build the necessary skills that are required to engage in an engineering related degree. However, this must begin with the teacher that the student may have. If a student were to have a teacher who is passionate and knowledgeable in the area of engineering, this may provide the student with a role model in the area based on their knowledge, and inspire the student to engage in engineering related post-secondary studies (Metz, 2011). By promoting engineering at a younger age, it can allow for girls to experiment and tinker with the foundations that are being taught to them, building their confidence in their abilities, and hopefully inspire them to choose an engineering career (Casey, 2015). Another improvement could be the introduction of non-traditional toys to girls with the intention of directing