| Title | Using ICT to improve the gender balance in engineering education |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2003 |
| Authors | Alha, K., Gibson I |
| Journal | European Journal of Engineering Education |
| Volume | 28 |
| Pagination | 215-224 |
| Keywords | Diversity Institute Literature Review, Engineering, Special programs, technology, Women |
| Summary | This paper describes a seminar that took place at Oulu Polytechnic in Finland on the topic of distance learning (known as ICT in Europe) and its effects on the representation of women in engineering in many countries. ICT-based teaching "permits comprehensive use of resource-based learning, provides flexibility in learning and facilitates wide support for individual communication and networking." The authors consider ICT advantageous for women in technical fields. |
| Extended Summary | The paper first compares the participation rates of women internationally in engineering fields. The data indicate that women are generally less represented in engineering in most countries relative to science and mathematics/computer science. The authors state that cultural and social differences are responsible for the different participation rates. Women in several countries are beginning to enter engineering due to increased job opportunities. Gender stereotypes are established in secondary schools; engineering and technology are depicted as male oriented fields.Career choices of women were influenced by career advisors and by school visits from university and professional engineering organizations. Career advisors usually discouraged women from pursuing a career in engineering, as indicated by a survey conducted on female students in third year engineering programs. Also, math and science (especially physics) skills at secondary school played an important role in students' decision to enter the field of engineering.ICT, unlike traditional pedagogical methods, encouraged women at the Open University in the UK to enter the field of engineering. Women prefer the flexible learning environment and the "confidentiality of teacher/student communication that e-learning offers." An increasing number of women have enrolled for new courses and degrees introduced through ICT such as biomedical engineering, bioelectronics and general engineering. The students consider these courses to be job-enhancing opportunities.The authors discuss at length various programs and networking organizations that exist for female engineers in Europe. They also quote supportive testimony from an employer and from female students on the positive aspects of being a female engineer. Mentoring and networking programs offered online by some of the European organizations were beneficial to female students. Female students felt little discrimination on the basis of their gender in these online forums. Such forums also allow for surveys and research on gender issues.The authors note that instructors feel that ICT-based teaching is more time consuming. Hence, it is possible that the most qualified instructors will opt for classroom-based teaching. The authors question whether ICT-based learning is indeed as good as classroom-based learning.One critique of this article is that removing women from the pressures of a mostly male academic environment and providing them with confidential e-mail communication with professors may not prepare them for professional interaction with men. In addition, as the article mentions, accommodations for women's family responsibilities must, in the end, rest with their future employers. If the employers are not amenable to change, women, especially in Eastern Europe, may not be able to follow up on their career potential. If women feel that they must go online in order to find discrimination-free environments, what does that say about the traditional classroom? |
| Recommendations | Female engineers and scientists should develop a "strong and influential presence in the early secondary school years in order to inform and encourage students of the wider career opportunities offered by an engineering/technological education." Professors should emphasize "interdisciplinary and innovative aspects of engineering" in addition to the technical content. |
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