The answer lies in the faces of the young girls I speak to across the country and their questions and comments. The answer is an overwhelming yes! I was again able to witness this need on Friday night I was the keynote dinner speaker at the 2007 National Symposium for the Advancement of Women in Science at Harvard University. I was humbled by those women around me who had dedicated a slice of their valuable time to inspire and encourage the young women of Harvard. The symposium was opened by Marion Blakey, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Dinner on Saturday night was enriched by Dr. Kathie Olsen, Deputy Director of the National Science Foundation. Other keynote speakers included: Dr. Anita Mehta, one of the world's foremost statistical physicists; Dr. Patricia Donahoe, Director of the Pediatric Surgical Research Laboratories and Chief Emerita of Pediatric, Surgical Services at Massachusetts General Hospital; Dr. Anna K. Behrensmeyer, selected by Discover Magazine as one of the 50 most important women scientists for her work in paleontological and geological research; and Dr. Anita Goel, Chairman and Scientific Director of Nanobiosym Labs and the President and CEO of Nanobiosym Diagnostics, Inc. These are a few of the women role models who spoke at the symposium.

Blakey

Behrensmeyer

Donahoe

Goel

Mehta

Olsen

When answering the role model question in regards to engineering-just look around you. Particularly troublesome is the gender gap within the engineering profession in the United States. It bothers me a great deal when I hear people tell me "Oh, Pat, it's getting much better than when you went to school." Is it? While the percentage of girls entering engineering schools is up from about 12% when I went to school in the 70's to just over 19% three years ago. That was the peak and the numbers are going back down now. Two years ago it was just above 16%. Women in the engineering workforce were a meager 10% when I was in school-guess what-that number has barely changed in 30 years. Thus, what's happening to "stifle" the desire to choose engineering? Engineering in America is indeed a "pale male" profession.

So what are the factors at the root of this situation? Many young people today—especially young girls—require role models and mentors to provide them with the hands-on guidance and encouragement that will prompt them to consider a career in engineering. To strengthen its scientific, engineering and technical work force the United States must reach out to young women. While women make up 46% of the U.S. work force, they hold just 12% of the science, technology, engineering and math jobs. This paucity means that valuable perspectives and experiences are missing in America's pursuit of advancements in science and engineering.

The Extraordinary Women Engineers Project that I chaired in 2005 conducted a study of more than 5,000 high school girls from a diverse population across the United States. Interviews with these girls revealed a profound lack of interest in engineering. Little understanding of the engineering profession existed. The girls interviewed perceived engineers as "geeks." They saw the engineering profession as a man's profession with little future opportunity for women. They cited the few female role models as proof. Most alarming were comments that the girls wanted to enter a profession "that helped people".

By inspiring and retaining these young women engineers, the engineering profession will secure the next generation of role models for girls seeking an exciting and challenging career. The starting point for the EWEP project was the 2006 book Women Engineers: Extraordinary Stories of How They Changed Our World by Sybil E. Hatch, P.E. (ASCE Press), which was released in conjunction with National Engineers Week providing role models of those outstanding women engineers, past and present, who have significantly contributed to a better world. I suggest this book as a good read for you and any young girls you know. We should encourage the women in the work force today to aspire to become role models. We should give them the opportunity to do so. If we do not, the assessment by National Academy of Engineering President Bill Wulf will remain in place: the engineering profession will continue to be "impoverished."

April 19, 2007

What about the roles that parents play? What about K-12 teachers? What about Jr. High/Middle/High School student advisors?

My parents, neither one of them in any science-based profession, were very supportive of any profession I chose (never classified "male" vs "female" professions). When I took a drafting class in high school, and did well in it, and enjoyed it, my DAD suggested that I be an engineer.

I always did well in math classes while in school (K-12), but I was always encouraged by teachers, especially in math classes, to do better than the boys. Plus, the teachers always made me feel good about being smart. Being smart may not have been "popular," but it got you places in the future--don't worry about being popular, worry about what you want to do for your future (and that what you were good at was what you should consider as a profession).

My high school advisors, both FEMALE, not only encouraged me to take drafting, science and math classes, but also set up my semester schedules for my four years of high school so I could complete math through Calculus, science through Chemistry, and two drafting classes. (They were tickled pink when I was accepted to the engineering program at one of the local polytechnic universities!!)

Lastly, my high school had a career center. We were required, as a condition of graduation, to take a class our freshman year and a class our senior year to review our career interests. We took the Myers Briggs test, and a sample of the ASVAB test our freshman year. That was the start of my interest in architecture and engineering. When I found out that architecture was highly competitive, and there was need (and more variety) in engineering, I started to pursue that route. I interviewed an engineer with Chevron as my senior year class requirement, and I was hooked. I took the ASVAB test my senior year, just to test my brain to see if I was cut out for engineering…

Those were my role models that led me to engineering before college. With my EIT under my belt, I now have high hopes of having my PE one day. As one of two engineers in my family (my uncle retired from Xerox a while ago), I will NEVER tell anyone not to consider engineering--I will just ask them their interests and steer them in the direction of the specific discipline of engineering they may want to look into.

Holly
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