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Michael Taraboulous Ms. Leslie Wolcott English 1102 14 November 2013 Why there are so Few Female Engineers and what is Being Done? The demand for engineers keeps growing and is one of the highest paid careers right out of college. With the equal rights movement and the increase of women entering into the workforce you would think that the percent of women entering the field of engineering would increase, but it hasnt. In order to keep up with the demand for engineers, colleges, companies, and researchers have attempted to find a solution to the problem. In order to do this some questions need to be answered and then addressed to come up with a solution to the problem. In reviewing articles pertaining to female engineers several questions arose in order to evaluate what is being done to increase the percentage of woman entering the STEM, mainly engineering field of study. The first question that should be addressed, Is there a smaller percentage of females in the field of engineering compared to that of males? If there is a problem, could gender differences account for the problem? Are females given the same opportunities as men do to pursue these fields? What is being done to increase the number of females in the engineering discipline? And lastly, are programs and changes making a difference in the increasing the number of females in the Engineering discipline? Even though all attempts have been made in this review to contain various forms of literature, the majority of the information was taken from journals. The main problem found in

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all these literature reviews was the lack of qualitative or quantitative methods to access the effectiveness of programs created to help improve the number of females entering the engineering profession. Even though I was able to provide some examples of different statistics taken from programs, the pool of candidates was limited to a small number, therefore not giving an accurate indication of what whether the programs were effective. This scarcity of information indicates a research gap in the subject which shows more overall studies need to be performed on a national level to determine programs effectiveness.

Are there a smaller percentage of females in the field of engineering compared to that of males?
Even though you would expect with the equal rights movement that more females would enter into more STEM careers(Sinkele 37), the number of females graduating in the field of engineering is approximately one-fourth to that of males according to Carrie Sinkele an engineering instructor at Choffin Career and Technical Center in Ohio. Engineering continues to be a mans world even though, according to Slashinski, girls test scores in math and science classes are equivalent to boys ( Sinkele 37). The underrepresentation of women in the mathematically-intensive sciences has been a concern in the United States for over a half a century (Hill 20). During a speech that Hillary Clinton conducted she argued, Women comprise 43 percent of the workforce, but only 23 percent are scientists and engineers (Hill 20). In an article called Pipeline of Personal Preference: Women in Engineering written in 2009, Schreuders states, Unlike other historically male-dominated occupations that have seen gains in achieving gender equity, many science, math, and engineering fields have remained

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peculiarly unbalanced in terms of gender. (Schreuders 97) This article goes on to explain that unlike other occupations that have been predominately been run by males, which are now showing some sense of equity in the percentages, engineering is one of them that has not shown any drastic increase in women over the years. In a survey taken in 2009 by Gibbons, graduating females with a bachelor degree in engineering represented only 18% compared to those of males at 82%

Could Gender Differences be the Cause?

Gender differences in mathematics and science have received substantial attention in education research since the early 1980s (You, 115.) According to Kelly King, Michael Gurian, and Kathy Stevens, the author of the article, Gender Friendly, among studies conducted for over 2000 schools throughout the United States, girls had lower learning and engagement in science and technology than males (39). It also showed girls showed problems with self-esteem and confidence in their work. Even though some of the gender differences can be linked to societal influences (King 40), others can be linked to physical differences in the brain. Some scientists believe that females are better in language and writing, and that boys are better in spatial ability which is a characteristic of math (You 115). In the article called, GenderFriendly Schools, it noted that boys brains tend to have more cortical areas, mainly in the right hemisphere, wired for spatial/mechanical processing, while girls brains generally have greater cortical emphasis on verbal processing. (Baron-Cohen 2003). It also noted that that a girls prefrontal cortex is more active at an earlier age than a boys which is the writing and word production area of the brain (King 41) . Then there are studies that conducted, like the WeaverHightower study in 2003 that came up with that gender plays no role in whether boys or girls

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excel in math, which counterdicts what most scientists believe. But more and more studies are showing that females learn differently than males and should be taught differently in order to have females reach their mathematic potential. In a study conducted by Orhun in 2007, it showed that females are convergent learners, meaning they use conceptualization and active experimentation in which they like discovery type inquiry (You 116). Males on the other hand have an assimilator learning style which they learn by watching and thinking. In another study, it was noted that creativity, curiosity, and the wiliness to take risks conducted by George Mason and Todd Kashdan, two psychologists, that males excelled in these areas compared to females and these characteristics are qualities needed to possess excellent math skills. In creativity skills, it showed males were more creative in their younger years, whereas females did not reach their full creative potential into after college years (Hill 22). If our society chooses to continue to expend significant resources for psychological studies in gender gaps in science, at least some should be aimed at understanding essential creativity factors (Hill 25). Studying these differences can help change the teaching methods used to teach females in the math and science area.

Are females given the same opportunities as men do to pursue these fields?
In an article written by Dr. Nike Faloyan, the chair of Association of Black Engineers, states that engineering careers is out there for the taking. She states, Its a myth that it is not as easy for women as it is for men to join the engineering community. She continues to say that she has never experienced any sort of discrimination in her field and only has received encouragement. In fact, there is such a demand for women in the field that more emphasis is given to help women succeed in the field.

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What measures have been taken to increase the number of females entering the engineering field?
There are several things being done to increase the number of females entering into the STEM professions. Among them are the teaching methods in schools. In the article called Gender-Friendly Schools, it noted that a school in Atlanta after not meeting AYP standards, set up professional development training and coaching for their school and their pilot schools in how boys and girls learn differently and how to implement strategies in their classrooms to address these gender learning differences (King 39). The results were the schools showed an improvement in their AYP test scores within 2 years. It also showed student attendance increased and discipline referrals decreased (King 39). Programs also have been developed to encourage females to pursue engineering disciplines. A program called Future Engineers Summer Camp (FESC) was developed as a day camp for girls in middle school to learn about engineering disciplines (Weavers 127). The main focus of this course is to teach females by interaction with actual practicing engineers whom are females, so they keep an open mind in the subject maintaining a positive attitude towards the math and science involved in engineering. Since females lack the contact with role models in this area, exposing them to real life female engineers and hands on projects is the goal of this camp. The girls are exposed to both academic and an industrial setting (Weavers 127), with a chance to actually visit female engineers at their work place along with a barbeque giving females an opportunity to interact with other females interested in the field.

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Another program that was created in 2005 was The Extraordinary Women Engineering Project in order to encourage women to pursue engineering careers. This was actually a study conducted in the Toronto-Canada area. It showed that actually only 32% of females when surveyed actually understood what a career in engineering consisted of. The project attempted to educate females to exactly what an Engineering career consisted of. A study conducted by Anderson and Gilbride, professors at Ryerson University, in 2007 to determine if a high school workshop promoting engineering had effect on males or females to pursue an engineering career had some positive results, The study looked beyond just the awareness impressions of girls and did find participating girls in the workshop did result in a significant increase in knowledge of the profession and with more girls wanting to pursue the career (38). Another study that specifically targeted responses from middle school girls after participation in an engineering camp was summarized by Quock, Lauren-Kovitz, and Bhattacharyya, engineers in Canada, The authors sought to determine the relevance of conducting an annual Introduce Girl to Engineering Day. It was hoped that the program would encourage middle school girls to learn more about the field of engineering. To provide the best opportunity for increasing the number of females pursuing an engineering degree, The reviewed studies point out that the most effective means of recruiting girls into STEM programs must incorporate the following factors: true knowledge of the profession, a network of support and relevance to personal goals(Sinkele 38). Another Program called Girls Excited about Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer (GE2MCS) was created to encourage and support girls in high school and college in the field (Lawrence, Deborah). In Australia, they created a project called Attracting Girls to SET and created a website at http://www.stem.utas.edu.au (Little, Alison). The Society of

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women to be successful Woman Engineers was founded in 1950 to encourage woman to pursue the field (Bi, Amy Sue).In all of these programs they had very little statics to show whether they the programs actually helped to increase the % of females going into the field. The U.S. National Science Foundation has set up the Advance of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers which has awarded over $130 million dollars encouraging and helping in the engineering field.

Statistics showing improvement in methods:

The FESC camp that is conducted yearly was for middle school girls mainly interested in engineering. A survey card asking questions pertaining to a girls knowledge, attitude, and aspiration, of engineering, is filled out by participates before and after the week camp. The largest % increase after participating in the camp was in the knowledge what engineering is, what classes is necessary to enter into the field what different fields there are in engineering with a increase of those females considering pursuing a career in engineering. Even though the FESC Camp for middle school shows an increased interest for females in the engineering disciplines, statistics supporting the actual number of participates entering the field into college is lacking. The program has sent our inquiries yearly to those participants to see if they have continued their interest in the field with few responses coming back. The goal of the program is to continue to try to track the effectiveness in the camp, and find a way to keep up with the participants to track their actual progress into their college years. The National Science Foundation Division of Science Resources and Statistics of 2011 showed increases each year from 1989 to 2008 in woman receiving Math PHds in the U.S. The

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% of woman compared to men was 19%(1989), 22%(1995), 25%(2000), 29%(2005), 31%(2008). This is a positive improvement, but research does not support what has helped to increase these numbers.

Conclusions and Needs for Additional Research

In reviewing literature pertaining to females in the field of engineering it was clear to see even though there have been a slight increase in females entering the field, it has not been as great as other fields that have previously been mostly male. Even though females represent approximately 50% of the working population, they only hold approximately 20% of the engineering professions compared to 80% of males. Many studies have been conducted to determine whether gender differences could be the reason for the lack of female participation. Most of the studies did conclude that most boys are wired for spatial/mechanical processing, while girls brains generally have greater cortical emphasis on verbal processing. This has led some schools to teach to girls and boys differently to see if it helps to improve their learning ability in different areas. I can see where this method could help in learning a field better, but am unsure of its effectiveness in females pursuing an engineering career. There also has been special camps and programs set up to help improve a girls knowledge of what engineering is such as Future Engineers Summer Camp (FESC) and Girls Excited about Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer (GE2MCS). Even though these camps and programs seemed to arouse a girls

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interest at the time, there is no clear statistic showing that these programs equated to more girls becoming engineers. In conclusion, even though efforts have been made to increase the number of females entering the engineering disciplines, there clearly is a lack in research determining whether these programs and organizations are actually effective in increasing the number of females entering into the field. More extensive research needs to be conducted with a broader statistical pool. In order to do this they might consider surveying females while taking standardized tests in school. Without including a larger pool of females into the statistical study, it will be hard to determine what programs, if any are effective in increasing their interest in engineering.

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Bibliography Baron-Cohen, S. (2003). The essential difference: The truth about the male and female brain. New York:Basic Books.
Faloyan, Nike. "A Career In Engineering Is There For The Taking For Those Women Who Want It." Engineering & Technology (17509637) 8.6 (2013): 26. Business Source Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. Hill, Theodore, and Erika Rogers. "Gender Gaps In Science: The Creativity Factor." Mathematical Intelligencer 34.2 (2012): 19-26. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

King, KelleyGurian, MichaelStevens, Kathy. "Gender-Friendly Schools." Educational Leadership 68.3 (2010): 38-42. Professional Development Collection. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Schreuders, P. D., S. E. Mannon, and B. Rutherford. "Pipeline Or Personal Preference: Women In Engineering." European Journal Of Engineering Education 34.1 (2009): 97-112. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

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Sinkele, Carrie Nicole, and Davison M. Mupinga. "The Effectiveness Of Engineering Workshops In Attracting Females Into Engineering Fields: A Review Of The Literature." Clearing House 84.1 (2011): 37-42. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. Tully, D., and B. Jacobs. "Effects Of Single-Gender Mathematics Classrooms On SelfPerception Of Mathematical Ability And Post Secondary Engineering Paths: An Australian Case Study." European Journal Of Engineering Education 35.4 (2010): 455467. ERIC. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

You, Zhixia. "Gender Differences In Mathematics Learning." School Science And Mathematics 110.3 (2010): 115-117. ERIC. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. Weavers, Linda K., et al. "Assessing An Engineering Day Camp For Middle-School Girls." Journal Of Professional Issues In Engineering Education & Practice 137.3 (2011): 127134. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.