Engineers create things. There are many different kinds of engineers. If you look at a device of any kind in the world, chances are good that it was created by an engineer.
Engineers work on everything from computer software and hardware to airplanes. They literally make the world go around in our increasingly technology-driven lives.
Engineers often rely heavily on the logic of math and the reality of science to accomplish their goals. But most importantly, engineering requires incredible amounts of thinking and creativity.
In a world of ideas, engineers bring creations to life… and that's a very powerful responsibility.
There is no biological reason. Women are just as smart and just as capable as men when it comes to engineering, yet only 20% of graduating engineering majors are women.
Perhaps the most explainable cause is tired social attitudes. Despite great strides in gender equality around the world, many people still believe that men make better engineers than women—a misconception that is just plain wrong.
The continuing stigma against women as engineers is being promoted even without us realizing. For example, studies have shown that if a girl shows aptitude in math, parents may simply fail to encourage her to continue to foster the skill, as they would with a boy. They may even be completely unaware that they are doing this great harm, but it is happening nevertheless.
The reality is: the engineering industry stands to strongly benefit from the contributions of women, who bring a fresh perspective and new innovative thinking to a forward-looking and deep-impacting profession.
Educate yourself and spread the word. The web, an invention created by engineers, is a good starting place to learn more about engineering and how women are playing an increasingly powerful role in the world as engineers.
If you're considering future career paths and think you may be interested in engineering (or at least learning more), use the resources available to you to educate yourself—then educate others too. A local university is also an excellent source of information. Take the time to fully understand engineering and what it's about, because you may be pleasantly surprised.
Here are a few links to get you started: