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Tan Rinehart, President
Susan Staffin Metz, Immediate Past President
Sherry Woods, President-Elect
Women in Engineering Programs and
Advocates Network (WEPAN)
STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION AND MISSION
WEPAN is a not-for-profit, 501(c)~3) organization founded in 1990.
WEPAN is dedicated to catalyzing change to enhance the success of
women of all ethnicities in the engineering profession.
STATEMENT OF POSITION
Demographic trends indicate that by the year 2005, women will rep-
resent 62 percent of new entrants into the United States' labor force, and
underrepresented minorities will represent 51 percent Judy and D'Amico,
1997~. In addition, employment opportunities for science, mathematics,
engineering, and technology (SMET) jobs during 1998-2008 are expected
to increase by about 51 percent or about 1.9 million jobs. It is WEPAN's
position that policies must recognize these demographic shifts and must
address systemic changes to meet the national need for engineers. With-
out addressing the lack of women studying engineering and the
underrepresentation of women in the engineering workforce, the gap be-
tween the national need and the supply of engineers will not change. In
essence, we put the nation at risk.
A principal effect of these population changes based upon recent
trends and projections for coming decades, is that engineering's tradi-
tional talent pool of Caucasian men is rapidly becoming insufficient to
meet future demands in both industry and academia. It is therefore im-
perative that greater emphasis be placed upon preparing the women and
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PAN-~CANIZAHONAL SUMMIT
minorities who will be a majority of the available workforce to enter these
fields and whose representation within engineering has grown steadily,
if slowly, in recent decades.
Women remain severely underrepresented at all levels in the U.S.:
representing 9 percent of the engineering workforce; 20.5 percent of bac-
calaureate degree recipients, 22 percent of master's degree recipients, and
14.7 percent of doctoral degree recipients (Engineering Workforce Com-
mission of the American Association of Engineering Societies, Inc., Engi-
neering and Technology Degrees 2001~.
The response by policymakers must, therefore, be viewed as a na-
tional priority. Policies must go beyond simple encouragement, which
thus far has proven inadequate in bringing women to the engineering
classrooms, laboratories, and workforce. Beyond numbers, women repre-
sent a vital source of intellectual talent that can no longer go untapped.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY
WEPAN recommends the adoption of national, state, and local poli-
cies that serve significantly to enhance science and mathematics educa-
tion at all grade levels, while aggressively implementing initiatives that
will increase enrollment and retention of women in engineering at the
college level. We need to increase the public awareness of the role and
mission of engineers so that "being an engineer" means something tan-
gible to the general public. To encourage girls and women to consider and
pursue careers in engineering, WEPAN believes that policies must ad-
dress two broad areas:
· The popular understanding of what engineering is, who engineers
are, and how they contribute to society
· The "culture" in which engineering is taught at the university level.
POPULAR UNDERSTANDING OF ENGINEERING AND
PRECOLLEGE OUTREACH
Only 8 percent of all students taking the SAT intend to major in
engineering. Of this group, 19 percent are girls of all races and
ethnicities. Girls are taking the necessary math and science classes in
secondary school to major in engineering. Over 40 percent of high school
physics and calculus students are girls (NSF, 1999; American College
Testing, 1998~. Girls are prepared for engineering majors. They are just
not interested. Engineering is currently failing to interest students, male
or female, in becoming engaged in the profession. This general lack of
interest may be attributed to a lack of awareness. In a 1998 Harris poll,
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WOMEN IN ENGINELPING PROC~MS A~D ADVOCATES NETWORK 197
61 percent of Americans described themselves as "not very well in-
formed" or "not at all informed" about engineering and engineers.
Among women, the percentage increased to 78 percent; among college
graduates, 53 percent.
Addressing problems of how engineers and engineering are under-
stood and perceived could be addressed, at least partly, through simple
interaction (by students and their teachers alike) with representatives from
within the field. Another avenue is reaching out to media- and tech-savvy
youth of the early 21st century in ways they can understand. Depictions
of science, engineering, and technology in movies and television are more
present than ever before in medical and crime shows. September 11, 2001,
has been accompanied by heightened visibility and increased public dis-
cussion and debate, both of which create opportunities for expanded un-
derstanding of the role of science and engineering in our daily lives. Edu-
cators and practitioners should capitalize on these opportunities that are
relevant to young people.
Programs that supplement the science and math curricula in lower
grades, provide mentoring at all levels, enlighten students about the im-
portance of science and technology to society, and educate students about
the broad range of career opportunities in engineering, need to continue
to increase the representation of women in engineering. However, out-
reach alone is not sufficient to effect meaningful change. After-school pro-
grams or summer camps, while a valuable component, are not going to
increase participation in numbers adequate to address the problem on a
national scale.
What is called for, instead, is a systemic shift toward engagement with
teachers, schools, and entire school systems. Educators from kindergarten
through graduate school must join with professional engineers in devel-
oping an innovative approach that is dynamic, systemic, and synergistic.
For example, Massachusetts has taken the lead by incorporating engineer-
ing principles as part of the state's educational standards, a first in the
U.S. Texas has also taken a step in this direction by accepting an engineer-
ing-based course as a science credit at the high school level.
UNIVERSITY CULTURE
Addressing issues of the engineering "culture" in the university envi-
ronment is imperative to ensure the long-term success of women who
enter the field. The difficulties women students experience in attempting
to retain their intrinsic interest in science and engineering in environments
that undercut their confidence, motivation, and sense of belonging in the
field, pose formidable obstacles to their completion of academic training
and/or satisfactory performance in engineering careers.
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PAN-~CANIZAHONAL SUMMIT
Research strongly suggests that factors unrelated to academic perfor-
mance are largely to blame for a disproportionate drop-out rate among
women engineering students:
· According to the 1998 report, Women and Men of the Engineering
Path, women and men earn similar grades in engineering courses, and
women who leave engineering have higher grades than men who stay. It
is not, therefore, poor academic performance that drives women out of
engineering, but higher levels of dissatisfaction.
· The persistence rates for women in math, science, and engineering
programs range from 30 to 46 percent, depending on the type of institu-
tion far below the 39 to 61 percent rate for their male counterparts
(Adelman, 1998~.
A 1998 national pilot climate study by WEPAN found that, although
male and female students responded similarly in many cases, perceptions
of their college experience differed widely. Women, for example, gener-
ally rated their experience lower in areas relating to feelings of self-confi-
dence, such as comfort level with lab equipment, the sense that engineer-
ing is the "right" major, and participation in classroom discussion. Many
institutions participating in the pilot study have recommended changes
at their institutions based on its results (Brainard et al., 1999~.
The recently released Goodman Research Group's (GRG) final report
on the Women's Experiences in College Engineering (WECE) Project (2002)
provides comprehensive quantitative evidence that women's assessments
of (1) their self-confidence in their academic abilities, (2) the engineering
department environment, and (3) the engineering classroom environment
are vital factors in their persistence in engineering majors. The study also
demonstrates that women who participate more frequently in engineer-
ing support activities, particularly those combining social and academic
interaction, are less likely to leave engineering majors. As both Adelman
(1998) and Goodman (2002) have documented, women students are not
leaving engineering because they cannot make the grade or because they
find the curriculum too challenging. Instead, it is the lack of social interac-
tion and sense of community within the field of inquiry, and the divorce
of curriculum from real-work application (Goodman, 2002~.
Margolis and Fisher's 2001 book, Unlocking the Clubhouse, asserts that
confidence issues for women in computer science require and deserve
institutional responses of attention, intervention, and remediation. In their
well-structured, longitudinal study, Margolis and Fisher explore multiple
dimensions of this issue in careful detail. Their findings also counter ca-
sual myths (e.g., about the so-called natural distribution of interest and
aptitude) that have inhibited or misdirected earlier remedial efforts. Fur-
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WOMEN IN ENGINELPING PROC~MS A~D ADVOCATES NETWORK 199
ther, their model of undergraduate recruitment and retention raises the
enrollment of women in undergraduate computer science from 7 percent
in 1995 to 42 percent in 2000. And Fisher's work at Carnegie Mellon Uni-
versity provides a host of recommendations on how institutions can
change the quality of the student experience to further promote gender
equity in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) edu-
cation.
Identifying recommendations and policies that can affect the culture
within universities is no small task. WEPAN proposes the following:
· Link research funds to first- and second-year retention of engineer-
ing students in the researcher's home institution.
· Require that universities collect and publish data that are disaggre-
gated by race and gender. A standard definition of first- and second-year
retention would need to be defined and observed.
· Evaluation criteria for research grants should include status or im-
provement in enrollment, retention, and graduation rates of undergradu-
ate and graduate women and underrepresented minorities.
· Performance evaluation for department heads within universities
should include status or progress of recruitment, retention, and promo-
tion of women faculty.
· Funding agencies should review guidelines and expand criteria to
include the replication of tested programs and initiatives, not just a focus
on new and original ideas.
WEPAN's final recommendation bridges public awareness, pre-col-
lege outreach, and university culture of engineering. At this time, the focus
continues to be the pipeline. How do we get more kindergarten students
to develop and sustain their interest in engineering? Most students do not
have an opportunity to fully explore engineering until they reach college.
All students, but girls in particular, are not ready to narrow their choices
and select a major such as engineering that precludes study in other areas.
When students are asked to declare a major, given the stereotypes, lack of
awareness, and male-dominated environment, the choice to major in en-
gineering loses far too often, particularly among women and people of
color. It is time to develop alternate pathways and frameworks at the col-
lege level that can engage students in engineering beyond the first or even
second year of college. Given the rigorous curriculum, this is a challenge.
But engineers always meet challenges and we implore them to do so. Too
many creative minds are being lost in the current process.
Since 1990, WEPAN has taken the lead in promoting change to in-
crease the number and success of women in engineering. Our impact has
been significant; yet the systemic change now needed will require col-
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PAN-~CANIZAHONAL SUMMIT
laborative efforts and, more importantly, policy changes that have the real
power to positively impact the demographics of tomorrow's engineering
and science workforce.
REFERENCES
Adelman, C. (1998~. Women and Men of the Engineering Path: A Model for Analyses of Under-
graduate Careers, U.S. Department of Education and The National Institute for Science
Education, Washington, DC.
American College Testing. (1998~. Are America's Students Taking More Science and Mathematics
Coursework? ACT Research Report Series 98.2. Available online at: http: / /
www. act. org / research /briefs /98.2.html
Brainard, S., Gilmore, G., and Metz, S. (1999, June). National WEPAN Pilot Climate Survey:
Exploring the Environment for Undergraduate Engineering Students. WEPAN National
Conference Proceedings, San Antonio, Texas.
Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies,
Inc. (2001~. Washington, DC.
Goodman, et al. (2002~. Women's Experiences in College Engineering (WECE) Project 2002, http: /
/ www. grginc. com / WECE_FINAL_REPORT.p df
Judy, R., and D'Amico, C. (1997~. Workforce 2020: Work and Workers in the 21st Century.
Hudson Institute, Indianapolis, IN.
Margolis, J., and Fisher, A. (2001~. Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing. MIT Press
Cambridge, MA.
National Science Foundation. (1999~. Women and Minorities and People with Disabilities in Sci-
ence and Engineering, 1998: National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA.
Strenta, C. (1993~. Choosing and Leaving Science in Highly Selective Institutions: General Factors
and the Questions of Gender: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, New York, NY.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
advocates network
