In recent times, women have more frequently ventured into the field of engineering, one of the fastest growing careers internationally. However, the enrollment of women in universities has grown slowly: only about 30% of the total population of students enrolled in an engineering-related program is female. Studies show that there is no female role model, so the inclusion of a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (stem) model in the Faculty of Engineering is proposed to increase inclusion, preference and enrollment of women in this area of knowledge.
The International Day of Women in Engineering was created by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) in the United Kingdom (year 2014), on the occasion of the celebration of its 95th anniversary.
Due to the boom that this date has taken, it has received the sponsorship of UNESCO in 2016, annually distinguishing 50 female engineers around the world who have excelled in their profession. Also, this day acquired an international character from the year 2017.
First woman in engineering
The first woman engineer in history was Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu. Romanian by birth, she applied to enroll in the College of Bridges and Roads in Bucharest after completing her basic studies. Faced with the refusal of said entity, he traveled to Berlin in 1909, at the age of 20, with the aim of enrolling in the Technical University of Berlin, from which he graduated with honors 3 years later, in 1912.
She broke with all the stereotypes established many years ago, which indicated that it was frowned upon for a female person to dedicate herself to the engineering branches, considered heavy work.
She thus became the first woman to obtain an engineering degree in the world. She dedicated her life to education and research in geology, combining the work of director of the laboratory of the Geological Institute of Romania with that of physics teacher at the “Pitar Mos” School. She was also the first female member of the General Association of Romanian Engineers.
The dean of the University of Berlin tried to convince her to give up her ambitions by citing the three Ks: kirche, kinder, küche (church, children, and kitchen). Many of her classmates ignored her and some teachers were against it with comments such as “the kitchen is the place for women, not the Polytechnic”
She was the first female member of the General Association of Engineers in Romania and was part of the International Association of University Women Years later, she continued to break gender barriers and pave the way for women in engineering because she became the director of the laboratories of the Geological Institute of Romania, he was simultaneously a teacher of subjects such as physics and chemistry.
Women are a fundamental part of society, regardless of the trade or profession, in this context, the work of women in advances, findings and works in the different branches of engineering is relevant. Not only were great advances made in the past, but currently the female sex continues to give the exact sciences something to talk about. Of course, not because they are women, the achievements are greater or less than those of a man, but they should be just as recognized, although sometimes they involved a certain degree of higher difficulty because many times women are faced with obstacles. or barriers.
In engineering, women have left a very marked mark, they have proven to be brilliant and capable of facing adversity. Thanks to these successful women dedicated to their careers, equity is becoming an ever closer goal, although the road is long.
More and more professional and entrepreneurial women are looking for opportunities to be noticed, to change the negative perspective that some people still have about the female sex. We just have to pay attention to be able to notice everything that surrounds us and has been developed thanks to the joint work of men and women.
Breaking barriers
In our current society, everything associated with equity among the population is an issue of the utmost importance. One of the most common equity issues is that related to gender and its roles, which represent a topic of great interest, especially for the new generations who are fighting more every day to have the same conditions for all.
We are in the XXI century, where gender equity has acquired an enormous presence, we can find it in every field and context that we want to deal with; it is present in the academic, labor, political, social, artistic, cultural, etc.; we find it day by day in the media, it is enough to mention the medium that currently has the most communicative power, the internet, where this topic is one of the most widespread in social networks, either positively or negatively.
Returning to what was mentioned above, one of the areas where gender equality is most discussed is the workplace, which is closely related to the academic field. To get an overview of this we can start by mentioning certain stereotypes among some trades and professions, such as, for example, that nursing is more a profession for women and not for men, that there should not be women taxi drivers because they are not good at driving, that the architecture is feminine due to the care of the design and the details that it requires and that heterosexual men do not have, that making clothes is not a job for men, or that civil engineering is for masculine men and women.
Stereotypes are only part of the reasons why people fight to achieve equality, there are many other reasons, such as motherhood, which is often classified as a labor disadvantage.
The role of the female engineer
In the field of science it is still little recognized, women have contributed greatly to its development. And engineering has not been an exception, there are a large number of examples that demonstrate their extensive capabilities for the engineering sector through the contributions they have made.
Emily Roebling and the Brooklyn Bridge
Emily Roebling was involved in some of the most ambitious engineering projects of her time. this american assumed daily supervision of the erection of the famous Brooklyn Bridge. Thanks to this opportunity, Roebling learned to make calculations and thoroughly understood the resistance of materials, which made her one of the best professionals of her time. She was the first recorded female chief engineer on site and headed the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Ellen Swallow Richards, the mother of environmental engineering
She is considered the mother of environmental engineering for her studies of water quality in Massachusetts. She was the first woman to enter the prestigious MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to study Chemistry, although she did not get a doctorate because the professors did not want the first doctorate in this discipline to go to a woman.
Hedy Lamarr, Hollywood star and pioneer of WiFi
Actress, telecommunications engineer and inventor, Hedy Lamarr invented a communications system called Spread Spectrum Transmission Technique. This would be the basis for today’s long-distance wireless technologies.
Ada Lovelace and the basics of computer science
This British woman was the one who established the fundamental pillars of current computer science. Despite the fact that in the 19th century it was not common for women to study science, Ada was lucky to have great teachers, such as the mathematician Augustus De Morgan or the Scottish astronomer Mary Somerville.
Margaret Hamilton, the first female software engineer
Margaret Hamilton was a visionary of computer programming. His work was so important that it allowed to put Neil Armstrong on the Moon, avoiding the disaster during the landing of Apollo XI.
References
1. Alunni, J. L. (s. f.). Definition of Engineering. Retrieved on May 14, 2016, from http://ing.unne.edu.ar/dep/eol/fundamento/tema/T3.pdf
2. Fernández, L., García, M., & García, P. (December 6, 2010). Blogger: Famous Women Engineers. Retrieved on May 17, 2016, from http://mujeresingenieras.blogspot.mx/2010/12/mujeres-famosas-ingenieras.html
3. Ingenet Bitácora. (April 12, 2012). retrieved on
May 15, 2016, http://bitacora.ingenet.com.mx/2012/04/6-ingenieras-de-exito-en-latinoamerica/
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