WOMEN AND SCIENCE

Women in Engineering, Science and Technology



Table of Contents

Introduction1

Discussion1

Women, Science and Engineering2

Account of Some Professional and Influential Women3

Ellen Swallow Richards4

Barbara Johnson4

Stephanie Kwolek4

Lise Meitner5

Lillian Gilbreth5

Katherine Stinson6

Marie Curie6

Caroline Herschel7

Behavior of Women in Higher Technical Education and Tuition8

Women Engineering Promoted9

Conclusion10

Bibliography11

Women in Engineering, Science and Technology

Introduction

The low visibility of women in science, technology and engineering careers is a fact. The women taking degrees in mathematics and computer represent only one third of the total number of students and the percentage is even lower in the engineering, manufacturing and construction, which only reaches 24%, according to the European Union. Only between 5% and 10% of high-tech businesses of the world are owned by women.

Medicine and agriculture are the research areas with a higher proportion of females. To encourage youth participation in these scientific disciplines, Tecnalia Technology Corporation has joined the European project as a partner Helena (an acronym for High Education and Scientific Engineering Leading to Careers) under the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission.

Discussion

The number of women in science and engineering is growing, yet men continue to outnumber women, especially at the upper levels of the professions. Girls and boys take math and science courses in almost in equal numbers and around same as many girls as boys leave their respective high school and pursue science and engineering majors in college. Yet the numbers of men pursuing these majors are still high (Smith, 2003). Among first-year college students, women are less likely than men to say that they aim to major in science, engineering, or math (MSE). By graduation, men outnumber women in nearly every science and engineering field. The difference is dramatic, with women earning only 20 percent of bachelor's degrees. Women's representing in science and engineering colleges further declines at the graduate level and in the shift to the workplace (Phipps, 2008).

Women have significantly advanced into every field, area, occupation or interest where men had dominance and power. With the passage of time, more and more women have started acquiring qualification and started to learn skills to perform different tasks. They have discovered that science and engineering fields are not as difficult as they appear to be. Women have come shoulder to shoulder with men in almost every profession including engineering.

Women, Science and Engineering

Science and Engineering are interesting and exciting careers for women and have the aim of solving technical problems to make a better society. Engineering is also one of the fields of interest in which women have penetrated to a great extent as we observe the stats of 2008 we can see the number of women who are in the field of engineering. Whether, teaching engineering related subject at professor, assistant professor, associate professor or full professor level or, practicing engineering as a profession (Findlen, 1999). The field of science, technology and engineering itself changed a lot as in early 19th century engineers were confined to building and designing infrastructures, engines, transmission systems and power generation like roads, canals, steam engines, telegraphs, generators, ...