May 1, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR BARB KONTOGIANNIS IN CO
I would not agree that most women prefer engineering for service or
social issues (if you are defining service/social with a medical field, for
example). I work on rockets in the aerospace industry, and I know women in
construction, oil and gas, computer science, automotive, and other
non-service/social industries. Personal preference plays a big part in
which field you choose. I would agree however, that there are typically
fewer women in more industrial type fields (like construction or oil and
gas) but I don't see a preference toward service/social issues. Of all the
women engineers I know, I probably know the fewest in the medical field.
Here's a twist for you - the category of service/social issues could really
be extended to every field of engineering. Engineers in construction, oil
and gas, automotive, environmental, and even aerospace, all provide a
service and address social issues in some way.
I hope that you will hear other perspectives on your question - it's a good
one.
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A: FROM MENTOR CAROL TOMAN IN IL
I do not agree that women are attracted to engineering primarily for
social or service reasons. I am personally fascinated with computer
science because it presents a series of puzzles to be solved,
preferably in clever and unique ways. I find that most of the women
in CS say similar things. While most people would say that they hope
their work would benefit humanity, it's just not one of the direct,
driving forces that keeps us working in our fields. There is an
interesting article written by a woman CS professor in California that
addresses your question much more eloquently that I can. Her College
is an evangelical Christian school so her argument is framed with
Biblical references, but her point of view stands up well on a purely
secular foundation as well. I hope you enjoy the article.
http://homepage.westmont.edu/~kimkihls/womenincs.pdf
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A: FROM MENTOR NATALIE GIVANS IN VA
I don't think that most females prefer engineering for service or social
issues, nor that most female engineers are in the medical area; however,
I don't have the statistics to back up my assertion. From experience in
electrical engineering and computer science, most female engineers I
know are in the same fields and in the same proportions across these
fields as male engineers that I know. I, myself, love the idea of
solving a world problem on the environment and/or health care, but for
right now (and for the past 19 years), I'm focused on information and
computer security, which helps society as a whole, our economic strength
as a nation, and our national security posture in general. My
experience is limited to information technology, aerospace, and systems
engineering across civil, defense and intelligence communities - I do
not have as much exposure to chemical engineers, civil engineers, nor
mechanical engineers to be able to say with certainty what female
engineers choose to do.