Closing the Gender Gap in Engineering - June 2010

Meagan PollockPh. D. Student, Engineering Education

Purdue University10 June 2010

Objective This will be an interactive and

engaging session where you will learn about engineering & the

gender gap. We will discuss gender bias in the classroom and

how to use this awareness to reach gender parity in engineering.

Activity

Application

Discussion

Example

Life takes engineering

In groups of 2 or 3, make a list of 20 things

you’ve used TODAY that have been

engineered.

Activity

Life takes engineering

Can you identify ONE thing that you used today that wasn’t touched

by an engineer?

Activity

Life takes engineering

Application

How can you use these activities to talk about engineering with

your students? What is the impact?

Do you know an engineer? What do they do?

Engineers make a world of

difference and help shape the futureDiscussion

Engineers make a world of

difference and help shape the futureExample

Engineers make a world of

difference and help shape the futureExample

Engineers make a world of

difference and help shape the futureExample

Engineers make a world of

difference and help shape the future

Tom LandryIndustrial Engineer

Example

• The most common undergraduate degree among Fortune 500 CEOs is Engineering.

• 1 in 5 CEOs have an engineering degree.

Source: Spencer Stuart 2005 Report

Engineers make a world of

difference and help shape the futureExample

Engineers make a world of

difference and help shape the future

Business Leader

Doctor

Marketing& Sales

Patent Lawyer

Teacher

Chemical

Mechanical

Civil

Electrical

Environmental

Engineers make a world of

difference and help shape the future

Application

How can you use real life Examples to introduce engineering

to your students?

How do engineers think?

Engineering Design Process

Boston Museum Of Science

Engineersare creative and

collaborative problem-solvers

What do engineers look like?

Engineersare creative and

collaborative problem-solvers

Discussion

What is a day in the life of

an engineer like?

Engineersare creative and

collaborative problem-solvers

Discussion

Average starting salary offers for engineers

Source: 2009 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers

Engineersare creative and

collaborative problem-solvers

Engineersare creative & collaborative

problem-solvers

Application

How can you use this knowledge to advocate career/education opportunities

in engineering to your students?

Gender Gap in Engineering• Remaining steady over the

past two decades, only ~20% of undergraduate engineering students are women. (1)

• In the workforce, only 1/10 engineers is a woman. (2)

Computer Engineer 2010 Barbie Doll

1. http://www.cpst.org 2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2007.

Gender gap in Engineering

Why do we care about the gender gap

in engineering?

Gender gap in EngineeringDiscussion

What are some of the issues/differences in the

classroom betweenboys and girls?

Gender bias in the classroomActivity

Scenarios1. Zoe2. Maura3. Rebecca

Gender bias in the classroomActivity

Strategies• Start early and young. • Have girls recruit girls: attain a critical mass. • Emphasize usefulness and relevance. • Use role models. • Revisit curriculum and teaching styles. • Teach the parents. • Teach other teachers and staff. • Do it again next year.

Closing the gap in engineeringApplication

Closing the gap in engineering

References

Closing the gap in engineering

mail@MeaganPollock.com

Backup

Resources to help you

• List of resources that they can use to advise students.

Closing the gap in engineering

Engineering

• Disciplines• Career Options

Engineer

Lawyer

Teacher

Business Leader

Doctor

Marketing

US Ambassador

• Computer science– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc03bnGYeX

A

Careers in STEM• What is STEM?• See the possibilities…– A GLIMPSE AT ENGINEERING• Life takes Engineering• Engineers make a world of difference and help shape

the future.• Engineers are creative and collaborative problem

solvers.

Scenario 1Zoe is one of your best middle school math students, and you encouraged her to sign up for advanced mathematics next year. Today Zoe stays after class to discuss her decision with you. “I’ve talked with my friends about taking advanced math next year. They all say advanced is tough, that boys tease you if you don’t know an answer, and that only dorky girls take it. My stomach gets butterflies just thinking about being in advanced math. I don’t think I can do it. Plus, my parents think math is not for young ladies and worry I will not like it or be accepted.”

Scenario 2Maura is eager to begin your introductory physics course, and already envisions constructing a hologram or a wheel chair lift for disabled students as her final project. She even has her brother’s graphing calculator to help with the difficult mathematical equations she will encounter. Yet as Maura flips through the pages of her textbook, her enthusiasm quickly wanes. There are neither pictures of women nor any mention of the contributions of female physicists. She asks you, “Do I really belong in a physics class?”

Scenario 3Rebecca’s friends nicknamed her “computer whiz” after she installed memory chips and a CD burner into her family’s computer. Her high school offers a career education track, and Rebecca decided to explore her options as a computer technician at Career Day. At the event, though, she was disappointed when speakers and materials promote nursing and child care as good careers for females and computer repair and electrical engineering as male endeavors. She now wonders if her goal is unrealistic and grabs material on cosmetology.

Gender Equity in the Classroom• Questions & Answers• Praise, Criticism, & Feedback• Physical Movement• Student to Student Behavior

Gender bias in the classroom