Until a few years ago, Rachel Daniels bought into the stereotypical image of an engineer as a nerdy guy with a pocket protector.
“I used to think that when I was little,” said the mechanical engineering sophomore at the University of Texas, Arlington.
It was only when she saw the rides at Disney World five years ago that she decided to join a technical profession. Daniels, 19, hopes to be an “imagineer” a designer of amusement park rides.
Daniels’ story is a case in point for educators and professional women who contend that women are far less inclined to go into engineering and computer science, even though statistics show girls are as adept in science and math as boys.
Women are steered away at an early age from science and technology careers, among the fastest-growing in the world, said Shauna Sowell, Texas Instruments Inc. vice president and manager of worldwide facilities.
“It’s the social messages that girls receive about what is acceptable for a girl to do,” she said. “We have all of these shows on TV where girls are in these neat law roles and neat medical roles. . . . Where do you see technical women?”
The statistics support Sowel’s view. Women have made significant advances in law and medical careers, where their representation has increased steadily. But the story is very different in technical careers. In computers and information science, the percentage of bachelor’s degrees awarded to women dropped from 37.1 percent in 1984 to 27.5 percent in 1996, the latest year for which statistics are available. Their representation in engineering and related technologies is even lower at 16.1 percent.
Daniels said girls are not likely to choose science if they don’t have a connection to it, as she did with Disney.
Her experience working with girls at a summer camp hosted by the University of Texas Engineering College showed her that many girls are interested in technology, but they need role models and encouragement.
Educators and professionals say they are cautiously hopeful that those kinds of interactions will propel more women into technology.
Another force that should help is the tremendous demand companies have for engineers and computer scientists, said Kelly Carnes, deputy assistant secretary for technology policy at the U.S. Commerce Department.
“The good news is that the economy is so strong and demand is so high,” she said. Getting more women in technology is “no longer good corporate citizenship. It’s a business imperative.”
Companies have invested in programs for girls and also made changes in working conditions that should be attractive to women, Sowell said.
High-tech companies have a reputation for regularly working people in excess of 60 hours a week. But with worker shortages at an all-time high, firms are offering better hours, benefits and working conditions, she said.
