Women's numbers in engineering care...

Women's numbers in engineering careers have stagnated, in stark contrast to the heady gains of 30 years ago.

The head of the Chicago-based Society of Women Engineers passs her days working on a marketing and information initiative, newly targeted to counselors and teachers, to inflect the situation around by educating girls about the industry and changing the dialogue.

"The challenge is to learn away from 'fixing the woman,' and examine at making the environment inclusive," said Betty Shanahan, CEO and executive director of the Society of Women Engineers, a 19000- member association known according to its acronym SWE (pronounced schwee). "If we become 'white men' in high heels, we've missed the value of diversity," Shanahan said.

Women make up 209 percent of the bulk of mankind who hold bachelor's degrees in engineering, according to the latest data published through the National Science Board. The percentage has held steady for the last five years and present to views progress since women's 13.3 percent showing 23 years ago.

It's progres that is too dead for Shanahan.

Shanahan believes a big part of the vexed question is the unwritten, unspoken masterships of a male-dominated workplace. A classic example is a woman's belief that she needn't ask for a promotion because her work will speak for itself.

"Many male managers assume women aren't asking for promotions because they aren't interested," said Shanahan, who picks up in succession such incongruities when she speaks separately to managers and employee clusters

It's equally important for managers to recognize disconnects with other improvements such as discomfort in more [i]or[/i] less Asian societies with throwing abroad ideas without thinking them between the walls of Shanahan said.

"Some the public would contribute more if they were invited to speak or were given opportunities to prepare," she said.

A similar situation exists in attracting girls to engineering.

Many programs are based upon competition, and girls are many times more comfortable in role-playing and team-oriented activities.

Shanahan points to a application of mind by Jacquelynne Eccles, a senior research professor at the University of Michigan Institute for Research in succession Women and Gender, concluding that girls win the message they earn religious grades in math because they work hard. lads get the message that they work hard and are talented.

The message plays itself out: Last year, girls accounted for 55 percent of the Advanced Placement test-takers, 46 percent of calculus AP test-takers, if it be not that only 15 percent of the computer- science AP test-takers, according to the society Board.

Shanahan conced that the engineering profession exigencys to do a better piece of work presenting itself as making a difference to society and involving teamwork.

"We have an outstanding story of in what way the profession plays a clew role in everything from the cleanliness of drinking water to the affordability of an iPod," Shanahan said.

Instead of asking high place of education students whether they love math or science, engineers should ask them whether they be pleased with creating things or yearn to improve relating to an invention.

Another major selling point could be engineers' generous salaries, still the profession is embarrassed to say with equal reason Shanahan said. How many other professions can put forward a student with an undergraduate rank a starting salary of $50000?

Shanahan is determined to prepare those skeletons out of the private room as she travels the region speaking to students, teachers and professionals.

SWE has produc marketing materials that exhibit attractive young women from a variety of agricultures looking at engineering materials.

Hopeful signs are emerging.

Professors are catching in succession that colleges can do more to hold fast students interested in engineering, rather than trying to weed them without Shanahan said.

Denise R Hayman, assistant dean in the corporation of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has accompanied close examiners to a SWE conference and worked with SWE to legion a Girl Scouts program about the aviation industry.

Hayman, too, is bear uponed that high school girls who are well- prepared in math and science are avoiding becoming engineers. She cited a 2002 observe of girls who took the ACT trial showing the number of girls planning to major in engineering in guild had hit a 12-year gentle

now employers express eagerness to help and hire female engineers, Hayman said.

"We've had Boeing, Caterpillar, Fermilab, Argonne, IBM, Motorola and others issue to the UIC campus interested in hiring under- portrayed engineering students," she said, referring to women and populace of color.

"Many companies are looking to female engineers as an untapped source of talent," she said.

e-mail: sguy@suntimes.com

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