IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) is one of
the largest international professional
organizations dedicated to promoting women
engineers and scientists and inspiring girls
around the world to follow their academic
interests to a career in engineering.
By membership, however, it can be
considered the largest international
professional organization dedicated to
promoting women engineers and
scientists.
The mission of IEEE WIE is to inspire,
engage, encourage, and empower IEEE
women worldwide.
The vision of IEEE WIE is a vibrant
community of IEEE women and men
innovating the world of tomorrow.
We do know, however, that 20 percent of
engineering school graduates are women,
yet women make up only 11 percent of
practicing engineers. One in four female
engineers leave the field after age 30,
compared to only one in 10 male engineers,
according to the Society of Women
Engineers.
According to the Society of Women
Engineers, women and other minorities
constituted approximately 16%-17% of
engineering graduate students from
1990-2003. Furthermore, in 2003
approximately 20% (approximately
12,000)of new engineers were women,
compared with about 80% of men
(approximately 49,000).
Although the number of female engineers today
has greatly improved since the early 1980s, when
only 5.8% of engineers in the U.S. were women,
it’s still surprisingly low. Currently, only 14% of
engineers are women, according to
the Congressional Joint Economic Committee.
“In the U.S., about 18 percent to 20 percent of
engineering students are now women, an
improvement over the abysmal numbers of 25
years ago,” says Joanne McGrath Cohoon, an
associate professor in the Department of
Science, Technology, and Society at the
University of Virginia , where 31% of
undergraduate engineering students are female.
Reasons that have been suggested for low
female graduation rates include lack of female
engineering role models, misconceptions of what
it is like to be an engineer, and having fewer
technical problem-solving opportunities through
K-12 compared to men. Cohoon believes that
lack of confidence is a huge factor, especially
competing with men.
Breaking the Stereotype
“Researchers at Stanford University recently
published new findings that women engineering
students perform as well as men, but are more
likely than men to switch to a different major,”
says Cohoon. “These women switch because
they don't believe that their skills are good
enough and they don't feel like they fit in
engineering.”
The stereotype that links masculinity to
technology is, unfortunately, still prevalent and
difficult to overcome.
Although universities and high schools are
working together to encourage more female
students to explore science and engineering,
industry also needs to step up and do more.
I AM AN ENGINEER
I CHANGE THE WORLD
