7 Ways to Get More Women into Engineering and Tech by Alyssa Johnson covers many current fields in science and engineering that are increasingly available for women who are willing to pursue the proper education, either informally or independently. Alex is a blogger and freelance writer based in Wilmington, DE.
Introduction
- With the development of feminism women are now players all the spheres of science and technologies. Schools were rearranged and women in the workplaces doubled. The world was shocked by great minds like a mathematician – Ada Lovelace, electronic engineer – Edith Clarke, computer scientist – Grace Hopper, NASA space program coworker – Evelyn Boyd Granville, and graphic designer – Susan Kare who created Apple Macintosh icon elements. Today women don’t have to fight for human rights. They are widely involved in the tech industry but in terms of administrating, managing, recruiting, monitoring, and other, where did all the female developers go?
Smart is hot
- Today science is everywhere. The EU provides a list of easiest engineering schools to get into and acquire not only high-quality specialized education but also valuable experience and a high level of self-realization. Women in engineering are as desirable as men because technologies are growing incredibly fast today and fresh new brains are only a plus to every perspective tech, IT, or research company. HRs are always fighting for the best heads. They understand that one talented engineer can make a big difference for the company’s development and as a result – income. Smart people are always in demand.
2. Go online
- YouTube is full of tech video(vlogs) like Kurzgeagt and Vsauce, which feature educational videos and experiments, which everyone can use to acquire desirable knowledge. If you need help getting accepted to a university, the guys from Eduzaurus can help. There are plenty of opportunities online. Coursera, CodeAcademy, and other online platforms provide plenty of courses for consulting help or remote education, which can be found on the websites of Barkley, Cambridge, and other world education rock stars.
3. Define what is Tech
- Under the engineering and technology umbrella, there is work connected with IT (instructional technology). Developers, designers, engineers, operations specialists, quality assurance specialists, and others, are professions strongly associated with information technologies. We don’t say software engineer anymore, we use engineer, and this means the one who works for a software development company. Today this is and excellent field to get into. On the other hand, we still have so-called “traditional” engineering, which includes civil, mechanical, electrical, and chemical. The latest updates in the academic world include genetic engineering. The female part of humanity has a potential for employment in all these industries along with males.
4) Answer the question “what matches women’s interests?”
- This question is always hard to answer in both professional and personal lives. Today, in spite of science popularization, some women still define themselves as a housekeeper and then change their minds and proceed with education after the age of 30 or 40. Hopefully, most universities allow this privilege. Unfortunately, the percentage of girls aged 14-23 can hardly imagine themselves in building industry, developing high-speed trains with a magnetic cushion or discovering all pros and cons of a single and multi-rail. The answer lies in poor distribution of information.
5. School programs
- Every parent knows modern problems with school education involving pupils in the academic world. The network of secondary education establishments often has a bad interaction with non-formal education programs which teach young people to explore themselves. If formal education were perfect, non-formal wouldn’t have appeared. It is necessary to explain to children how the modern developed world works and encourage their interest.
6. Get rid of prejudices
- Times when families had seven children, huge houses, livestock, and only one mother to handle it all, are far behind. Women today are educated persons who can be both housekeeper and a director of a corporation. We don’t have strict distinctions in the modern professional world. Be it the South or the West, we are the same when it comes to emerging technologies. The more educated people get involved in it, the faster we develop alternative sources of energy, stop wars, prevent poverty, prevent global pollution and make our world a better place.
7. Try and fail and try again
- Many women believe that they won’t obtain the same logical way of thinking as men. This is no more that another prejudice. After acquiring an HNC (Higher National Certificate) women can try one specialization, then another, try different courses and find the one which works the best. No one knows what excitements are waiting in future when you follow your interests, but one thing is already defined – you will never be bored.
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