Women in Engineering

Women in Engineering

Introduction

Around the world, women have progressed significantly as workforce, but are still well behind the men, as has been documented in several studies. According to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2008, "In all countries the rate of female participation in the workforce is significantly lower than that of men." On average, approximately 60% of women are employed in countries affiliated with OECD. The implications of this go beyond issues of gender equality. The two trends are reshaping the world of work today: the growing dominance of the service sector and the decline of the working age population. In addition to an indisputable fact, the global talent shortage will continue to increase, especially as teh current trends emerge from the current financial crisis.

Shortage of Women in Engineering

Some of teh reasons responsible for the lack of women participation are inevitable. Some are cultural and therefore difficult to solve at the policy level. However, many are structural and investigate a time when the five-day weeks and 40 hours are the norm, and men are the primary household income and few women worked outside the home. That model is impractical for many women with primary responsibility for the care of children and other family obligations.

Rigid work structures are the biggest global barriers. Many women cannot remain tied to an office for eight consecutive hours Monday through Friday. They need a job that allows them to choose when and where to do their jobs. This fact has not gone unnoticed and many companies in the world have adopted policies friendly to women as half-times, "flextime" and work at home. However, most of these initiatives are being a little more than variations of the working week of 40-hour and labor laws tend to support this outdated concept. The truly flexible working practice should allow people to set their own hours and get away from the office if considered practical (Julia, 1998). Jobs in the service sector, where the need is greatest, new workers can often get this kind of arrangement.

A paradigm shift would be appropriate. Teh companies suppress the time tracking and technology to encourage individuals to easily collaborate from time and distance, and create pathways for women and other groups to progress and not sit in an office five days a week, eight hours a day. This is done so that they can succeed at ...