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Program Closes Gender Divide In Engineering

A new study released proves the Engineer Your Life.org website and campaign, spearheaded by WGBH and the National Academy of Engineering, is breaking down stereotypes in engineering, increasing high school girls’ interest in engineering, and inspiring young women to explore engineering courses in college. The campaign aims to reposition engineering as a creative, lucrative, team-oriented profession that allows people to make a difference.

Engineer Your Life also is supported by National Engineers Week, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Association of Engineering Societies, and a coalition of more than 100 partners

Results of the study come at an opportune time, as the National Science Foundation recently suggested that the US currently is not training enough engineers to meet national needs. Women currently make up only 20.4% of engineering majors in universities (National Science Board 2008) and 11.1% of practicing engineers in the field (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2007).

The importance of the campaign also is underlined by the fact that the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that four of the 30 fastest growing occupations through the year 2014 will be in engineering-related fields. In addition, CNN recently reported that the top two careers that will have the most growth through 2016 are in engineering.

“Engineer Your Life is providing powerful tools and ideas for the engineering community, and opening girls’ eyes to the vast possibilities in the world of engineering. The EYL campaign is changing the conversation by breaking down stereotypes, challenging norms and converting negative misconceptions to enlightened understanding. This success has been a long time coming, and is oh so well done,” noted Jackie Sullivan, Associate Dean of Engineering, the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The study, which was conducted by Veridian Insight LLC and American Institutes for Research, was done over a two-year period. High school-aged girls, guidance counselors, and practicing engineers were surveyed in relation to both cultural perceptions of engineering and its feasibility as a career choice.

The results were overwhelmingly positive and confirmed a shift toward greater interest in engineering as a career.

For example, girls familiar with EYL listed engineering as their number one career choice, said they have a broader definition of what engineering is, and leave the site armed with the steps involved in pursuing an engineering-related career path. Girls who visited the site also better understood that engineers use their imagination and creativity, and need good people skills, writing skills, and public speaking skills.

Key survey findings include:

For Girls:

• 95% of the girls who explored the site indicated that the website helped them learn about engineering as a career and more than 75% indicated the site inspired them to take an engineering course in college.

• Nearly 80% of girls, after exploring the EYL website, listed engineering as their number one career choice.

• 79% of girls had a better understanding of how to pursue an engineering degree after visiting the site.

For adult influencers:

• 97% of engineers reported that the site helped students learn about engineering and that it worked well to introduce the field to high school girls.

Overall, 99% of counselors remarked that they “learned something about engineering” from the site.

The majority of counselors who used EYL as a resource (86%) were from schools that did not offer specific engineering classes.

Most of the counselors (96%) also reported that the EYL website did a good job of helping them understand what they should do to prepare high school girls to become engineers (e.g., what classes to take and how to prepare for college).

To access the study in its entirety, visit http://engineeryourlife.org/cms/engineers.aspx?subpage=10324.

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