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Argumentative Essay
Stephanie Carrera
The University of Texas at El Paso
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ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY ON WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
Introduction
For many years, women in engineering have been viewed as different. Throughout the years
women in engineering have been judged and stereotyped. Although the number of female engineers
today has greatly improved since 1980s, when only 5.8% of engineers in the U.S. were women, it is
still surprisingly low. Currently only 14% of engineers are women. In todays society women have been
taught that they are not less than men. That women deserve the same rights and opportunities that men
have. But what many people dont understand is that men are being prepared for activities like these
since theyre young and women are not. Starting from K-12 boys develop their special awareness skills
at a young age by playing with construction toys such as Legos and linking logs. Girls are immediately
put at a disadvantage because they are not exposed to task-oriented projects during play times. Girls are
taught that they should only play with Barbies and not boy toys. Two stereotypes are prevalent: girls
are not as good as boys in math, and scientific work is better suited to boys and men A large body of
experimental research has found that negative stereotypes affect womens and girls performance and
aspirations in math and science through a phenomenon called stereotype threat. (Hill, & Corbett,
2010) What people dont understand is that women can do just as great as men in engineering.
Causes and Effects of Stereotyping
Stereotyping can have a huge impact on a women joining the engineering work force.
Stereotypes usually talk about women not being smart enough to join the field. Or theyre also thought
of someone weak that tries to avoid physical contact with objects out in the fields and would rather
work in an office. Many women have done great things in the engineering workforce. For example,
Charlotte Fischer is a mathematician who developed atomic structure models to successfully predict the
existence of negative calcium ions. This comes to prove that women can do as much as men can in
engineering. I can go on and on listing accomplishments many women have made. Stereotyping also
has a lot to do with womens abilities to perform correctly in engineering. Research consistently finds
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ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY ON WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
that stereotype threat adversely affects womens math performance to a modest degree and may
account for as much as 20 points on the math portion of the SAT. While 20 points on a test with a total
possible score of 800 may seem small, in 2008 the average male score on the SAT math exam was 30
points higher than the average female score, so eliminating stereotype threat could eliminate two-thirds
of the gender gap on the SAT-M.(Hill, Et al, 2010) If women werent put into such a big amount of
pressure while performing tasks there would be a huge significant difference. Not only would womens
performance change, but also the percentage of women in engineering.
Women Fulfilling Mens Jobs
As this subject continues to be looked down on people must realize that women in engineering
are becoming more common in todays world. Women are assets in engineering because women are
very attentive to details and are also perceptive to human need. Programs were developed by
government, schools, and business to encourage the entry of women to non-traditional professions
like law, science, and management, and blue collar jobs like welding, carpentry, and truck
driving.(Mcllwee, & Robinson, 1992.) this is stating that women were receiving opportunity to join
forces like engineering since there was always that pressure that women werent good enough and
that it was a mans job. These efforts achieved some success. During the 1970s there was for the
first time a modest but significant decrease in the sex segregation of occupations.(Mcllwee, 1992)
proving that simply by making women feel comfortable in this position there can be a significant
increase of women in engineering. Studies show that women lack confidence and have many
insecurities when it comes to this issue. They have argued that, in addition to the general
incompatibility of the female role with professional work, engineering presents special obstacles to
women. Engineering is a thing oriented occupation, but women strongly prefer fields in which they
work with people rather than things. (Mcllwee, 1992.) Once again this proves that people stereotype
against women. They think that just because you are a woman you dont like physical contacts with
objects out in the field. Which is false. Elsie Eaves had tremendous skills at building databases without
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ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY ON WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
the use of computers. She earned a degree in 1920 from the University of Colorado. She worked in
highway, railroad, and public road engineering Her construction inventories became so well-known
and respected that they became databases for other researchers, including those who needed supporting
figures to drive new construction after the Great Depression.(Briseno, 2012) supporting evidence that
women also like to go out in the field and work with highways, railroads, etc. just like men do.
Historical studies have shown that womens labor participation, and their choice of occupations, is
highly responsive to the demand for their labor. This happened in World War II, when women were
needed to fill mens jobs in the factories. It happened again in the 1970s when legislation forced the
doors of law and medical schools open to women.(Mcllwee, 1992). This comes to prove that even
during World War II women proved themselves to be worthy of doing a mans job.
Conclusion
Although women are looked down on because of stereotyping such as, not being fit for the job,
too feminine to work in the field, and not being physically and mentally capable of doing these jobs.
Accomplishments women have made throughout the years in engineering prove otherwise. Women are
capable of doing the same jobs men do. If women werent put through so much pressure about not
being mathematically smart or scientifically smart they would feel more confident to join male
dominated jobs. Women are needed in fields like these
Reference Page
Hill, C., & Corbett, C. (2010). Why so few?: Women in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics. Washington, D.C.: AAUW.
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ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY ON WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
McIlwee, J., & Robinson, J. (1992). Women in engineering gender, power, and workplace
culture. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Briseno, T. (2012, September 18). 10 Women Who Broke New Ground in Engineering.
Retrieved November 20, 2015, from http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/10women-in-engineering.htm