{"id":27206,"date":"2021-10-20T03:49:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-20T03:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=27206"},"modified":"2021-10-23T01:10:09","modified_gmt":"2021-10-23T01:10:09","slug":"trailblazing-women-who-broke-into-engineering-in-the-1970s-reflect-on-whats-changed-and-what-hasnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/trailblazing-women-who-broke-into-engineering-in-the-1970s-reflect-on-whats-changed-and-what-hasnt\/","title":{"rendered":"Trailblazing women who broke into engineering in the 1970s reflect on what\u2019s changed \u2013 and what hasn\u2019t"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Laura Ettinger<\/a>, Clarkson University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engineering in the U.S. has long been \u2013 and continues to be \u2013 a male-dominated profession. Fifty years ago, it looked like that might change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1970, the percentage of women majoring in engineering was less than 1%. In 1979, that number was 9%<\/a>. Many hoped women would continue to enter the field at the same rate. But that\u2019s not what happened. Today, only 21% of engineering majors are women<\/a>, a number largely unchanged since 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a historian<\/a> who, along with my colleagues, Nicole Conroy<\/a> and William Barr II<\/a>, surveyed 251 women engineers who graduated from college in the 1970s. These trailblazing women reflected on the adversity they faced<\/a> \u2013 and had advice for women entering the field today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Black<\/a>
Student researchers at the University of Florida, Gainesville work on a solar-powered generator, 1977. Society of Women Engineers Photographs, Walter P. Reuther Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Never quite one of the group\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We asked about the greatest challenges our survey takers faced as women in a male-dominated field. The three obstacles they cited most frequently were not getting respect, not fitting in and struggling to achieve work\/family balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One survey taker, a biomechanical engineer who now works in web engineering, explained, \u201cThe greatest challenge for me was continuing to believe in myself, when all the messages I was getting were that I would never be taken seriously or promoted or given raises \u2013 or even hired \u2013 at the same rate as men, who were clearly less qualified and not as smart as I was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A chemical engineer who worked in manufacturing concurred, \u201cYou have to prove yourself just because you are female. And you have to work twice as hard!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Black<\/a>
On the job in the Kodak lab, 1977. Society of Women Engineers Photographs, Walter P. Reuther Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A civil engineer said, \u201cWe are \u2018women engineers.\u2019 People don\u2019t refer to a man as a \u2018man engineer\u2019 \u2013 he\u2019s an engineer. We are constantly reminded that we don\u2019t truly belong.\u201d Another civil engineer stated, \u201cOn many levels, you\u2019re never quite one of the group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women also talked about family caregiving responsibilities. A retired vice president from a major chemical company stated, \u201cYoung women engineers are on equal footing until they have children, then they struggle to balance work and family \u2013 and compete with men who don\u2019t have the same time constraints or busy family life.\u201d Another woman who worked as a chemist warned that bosses assume \u201cyou will leave as soon as you start having babies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember, the women we surveyed are all now in their 60s and 70s. We asked them if they thought the challenges they faced had changed over time. A retired chemical and environmental engineer said, \u201cProgress is slow\u201d \u2013 a view echoed by many survey takers. A nuclear engineer added, \u201cThere still remains an old boys\u2019 club \u2026 It isn\u2019t as blatant or as crass as when I started, but it still exists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some noted that subtle forms of discrimination and bias can be really damaging. An engineer with a long career in the auto industry said, \u201cBias can be quite subtle, which really hurts young women, because it can take them years to recognize it, by which time they may have lost a lot of ground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About one-quarter of survey respondents said that gender problems no longer exist. A senior project engineer said, \u201cToday, young women engineers are more accepted mostly because there are just more of them. It\u2019s easier to get their foot in the door. Younger male engineers are also used to working with women because they went to school with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advice to young women entering engineering<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite identifying challenges, the majority of survey takers said they would tell a young woman thinking about pursuing a career in engineering to \u201cGo for it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Black<\/a>
Working the Con Edition 74th St. Station control room, New York, 1975. Society of Women Engineers Photographs, Walter P. Reuther Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Many of the women extolled the benefits of their chosen career. A program manager in manufacturing stated that \u201chands down\u201d engineering is the best degree. A mechanical engineer who owned her own consulting company said, \u201cIt will give you the flexibility to do almost anything. It is almost impossible to point out anything tangible an engineer didn\u2019t touch or influence in some way. It is also satisfying to see the effects of what you have done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some survey takers suggested younger women might need to ignore obstacles. A retired aerospace engineer advised, \u201cYou can do the job. However it takes strength and perseverance to do so while ignoring the naysayers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Respondents also had practical advice for younger women starting off in the profession. They emphasized using some approaches that worked for them. These included speaking up for yourself, exiting unsupportive workplaces, seeking professional organizations that can help you, finding mentors of all genders and reaching out to other women engineers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Black<\/a>
Members discuss a session at the 1981 Society of Women Engineers National Convention in Anaheim, Calif. Society of Women Engineers Photographs, Walter P. Reuther Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A retired nuclear engineer said, \u201cUse the \u2018Old Girls\u2019 Network\u2019 \u2013 it does exist \u2026 Don\u2019t isolate yourself. You are not the only one with your issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of a larger struggle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, the problems our survey takers faced were and are structural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engineering remains male-dominated due to many factors<\/a> common in other STEM fields. They include gender bias and stereotypes<\/a>, male-dominated educational settings and workplaces<\/a>, and sexual harassment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenges for women from underrepresented groups<\/a>, such as people of color<\/a>, people with disabilities<\/a> and people with LGBTQ identities<\/a>, are even greater<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a chemical engineering professor put it, \u201cLaws and attitudes have changed significantly \u2026 However, these changes are not without backlash or pushback. Learning to cope with this is ongoing, not only for women, but for all \u2018strangers\u2019 in this profession.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laura Ettinger<\/a>, Associate Professor of History, Clarkson University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Laura Ettinger, Clarkson University Engineering in the U.S. has long been \u2013 and continues to be \u2013 a male-dominated profession. Fifty years ago, it looked like that might change. In 1970, the percentage of women majoring in engineering was less than 1%. In 1979, that number was 9%. Many hoped women would continue to enter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":27207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[826,3410],"tags":[10684,4800,3878,10685,2476,3824,2943,1976,682,185,10686,1738,5659],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27206"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27206"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27226,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27206\/revisions\/27226"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}