The variety of jobs in engineering is enormous, and during their career, every member of an engineering team will bring their own expertise, whether practical, technical or creative. For sixteen years, the WISA (Women Into Science and Engineering) Campaign has been working at ensuring that women too, are able to be an integral part of the profession.

The campaign was launched in 1984 to change attitudes of young people, parents, teachers and the general public to the value of engineering and its suitability as a career option to men and women. No one was naïve enough to expect the culture change to take place overnight. However, ten years later, some encouraging progress has been made, with the number of young women studying engineering in higher education in Britain have risen from 7% in 1984 to 14% in 2000. By 1989, there were female students on all university and polytechnic engineering courses.

The root of the problem is one of stereotype about what is appropriate for a man and a woman to do and be. Prejudices are ingrained from a very early age, as shown by a survey that the Engineering Council commissioned, revealing that as early as the age of five, children perceived that car repairs and woodwork were almost exclusively the province of men, and mending and making clothes the domain of women.

Given that engineering is the application of scientific knowledge to solve practical problems, there is nothing to justify the discrepancy between the numbers of men in the engineering profession compared to the number of women. There can also be no justification in a free society for discriminating against half the population of the people who pass through the education system by restricting their opportunities. Furthermore, in a country that must pay its way in the world by adding value to goods and materials, it does not make sense to discount or discard half of the potential talent available.

Early signs show that demographic trends have created a situation where the potential wasting of talents is a luxury we simply cannot afford. Finally, and most importantly, both camps are missing out: women because engineering is a fascinating career, and industry, because women make such good engineers. In addition, the concept of women wanting and needing a career is now well established. Contributing to the needs of the community by working is a most rewarding feeling, and women are now able to aspire to this. Most households could not survive on one single income, and women's work is often a necessity. The family scene has also much changed, with a substantial number of couples choosing not to have children or to have children later, allowing women to devote their early years to career. And, of course, technology has relieved us from a lot of drudgery of domestic life, thus making it possible to devote energies into more constructive areas.

So why should women consider Engineering as a career? For the same reasons as the men! Great opportunities face today's male and female engineers because of rapidly changing technologies. As an engineer, new technology may not just represent a challenging change - In fact, you may have to contribute to it!

Engineering and high technology have helped to achieve projects such as around the world such as the new subway in Shanghai and the new Beijing Airport, but even more vitality, it has enabled us to have luxuries such as clean drinking water, electricity, gas and many other facilities which contribute toward a safe, comfortable and enjoyable life. We often take for granted these services and yet, in the Third World, there are still women walking every day for several miles carrying water on their heads.

Improving the quality of life is one of the engineer's priorities. Engineering is essentially about people, whether the project involves the design of a hip joint replacement or the manufacture of a hi-fi equipment. Engineering is a caring career. The contribution of engineers to the preservation of the environment is also fundamental, from the improvement of general pollution and nuisance to the repair of damage caused by disasters, and the prevention of such disasters re-occurring.

Engineering needs a team of creative, caring and ambitious people to face the challenges and excitement of the work. No wonder the word engineer derives from the world ingenious.

For more information on the WISE Campaign contact: WISE Campaign, The Engineering Council, 10 Maltravers Street, London, WC2R 3ER Tel: 0307 240 7891 Fax: 0207 240 7517 E-Mail: www.engc.org.uk

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