If you have known me for a while you might remember that I was involved with “Women in Engineering” initiative back in University. Every year we would invite high school girls to check out the ECS faculty and tell them what a great thing it is to be an engineer. It has been fifteen years since and I thought this would be a good time to reflect on how far we have come.
For me, engineering has worked out very well. I don’t think I would want to, or even could, ever do anything else. Yet, looking at statistics of enrollment in engineering programs, it looks like the initiative I was involved had very short lived success. Not only did the women’s enrollment not rise since my halcyon days, but the numbers dropped slightly and then stagnated.
When I was at University, I thought it was only a matter of time until women are about as likely to pursue a career in science or engineering as men. Now, I am not sure if that will ever happen.
Happy early Women’s Day anyway!