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
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