Women In Engineering Technology: Where Are They?

Despite substantial increases in the number of women entering law, medicine, and business3 fields previously dominated by men, there is still a scarcity of women in the field of engineering. Women continue to lag behind men in their enrollment into engineering programs and, consequently, in their completion of engineering degrees. At Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) the disparity is especially acute in the engineering technology programs. One student-led initiative implemented to remedy Oregon Tech’s situation was with a diversity action grant obtained by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) student club. The ASME students, working in conjunction with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) club, developed and administered a one-day conference designed specifically for female high school students regarding engineering careers. A successful program resulted that has helped to focus attention on possible reasons for the disparity of women in engineering technology. In addition, from the collaborative effort of the ASME and SWE clubs, strategies have been conceived for the recruitment and retention of women in engineering programs at Oregon Tech.