Brewing Change: A Forum for Women in Engineering and the Sciences

A recent focus in engineering education has been gender disparity within engineering. Students are more apt to continue with the discipline if we engage them early and in innovative ways. This paper details a weekly discussion group for women in the sciences and engineering on the small campus of a major university (Penn State Greater Allegheny). Participants were invited to the discussion group to talk about their experiences as women in these traditionally underrepresented areas. The group was provided with journals for recording their experiences as well a weekly prompt for discussion. The goal of this discussion area was to provide a friendly and open forum for discussion about gender issues. Participants valued the forum as a place to speak and hear about the experiences of female faculty who may have faced similar issues as well as way to connect with their peers in the discipline.