CWSE

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

WOMEN AND TECHNOLOGY

By Dr. Monique Frize

Although the number of women going into engineering and science at Canadian universities has risen steadily at a rate of one per cent per year, we are still very far from achieving the progress made in the faculties of law, dentistry, medicine and most other professions. Whereas the other disciplines have had a gender balance for some time, in 1995, the national average for women entering engineering undergraduate programs was just under 20 per cent. The figure was slightly higher in computer sciences and physics.

The proportion of women in the various engineering disciplines varies greatly. Men and women are entering fields like chemical and environmental engineering in equal numbers, but in fields like electrical, mechanical and computer engineering women are approximately one-tenth of the student population. Many of the well-paying jobs are in the last group of disciplines. Why do young men realize this fact, and yet young women are not getting the message?

To answer that question, it is useful to look at how girls and boys react differently to computer technology. It has been said that "technology is decisively shaped by social relations, i.e. the political and economical needs of managers in industry or by military interests." In addition, feminist studies infer that "technology is characterized by masculinity and influenced by masculine interest."¹ The result is the male dominance we see in engineering and in computer science, especially in the high-tech sector. In the past, the roles of men in high-technology have been as developers and principal users, whereas the role of women has been more limited to being users, and mostly of the simpler technologies. In turn, boys seem to be more fascinated by the process of using technology, whereas girls are more skeptical of its efficacy, and many resist getting involved in its development.

Child and stereotypes

A recent study of children of professionals and business people in Nigeria shows that boys play substantially more than girls with computers.² Girls and boys in the study agreed that computer games are designed for boys, citing the action, violence and adventure games contained, and the fact that all heroes are male characters, while female characters are victims to be saved by the male heroes. A few new games use violent female characters, but obviously that doesn’t solve the problem! Arcades and computer clubs are mostly frequented by boys.

Gender-role stereotyping is another important factor. Many people think that modern society with its great number of working women has eradicated the problem, but a study by Baumgartner-Papageorgiou³ shows that the stereotypes are alive and well. In 1982, then again in 1992, researchers asked girls and boys between 8 and 17 years old what their lives would be like if they woke up the next morning as a person of the opposite sex. The results were similar (though a decade apart), and shocking. Girls said that if they, were boys, they, could be "calm and cool," "not allowed to express their true feelings," "rowdy" "macho," "smart-alecky", "could show off more," and "would be more valued by their parents." Boys, in turn, said that as girls they "would have to be beautiful," "would have to know how to put make-up on," that no-one would be interested in their brains," and that they "were not sure if they would be appreciated by their parents." As for their listed choice of jobs, girls said that as boys they would become professional athletes, construction workers, engineers, sportscasters, auto mechanics, pilots, forest rangers. The girls also felt that if they were boys their lives would be better economically and status-wise, they would enjoy more freedom, and would have a better time with less responsibility. The jobs boys listed they would have if they were girls were secretary, social worker, model, airline stewardess, and prostitute. Boys evidently still saw women in roles serving others. The report also says: "Boys and girls both made references to the fact that females are often treated as sex objects," and adds "references to treatment of females often included references to violence against women." Some boys (grades 8 to 11) mentioned that if they were girls, they would need to protect themselves against "drunk guys and rapists." Girls said that if they were boys, they would no longer have to fear these "attacks." Overall, the author found that "boys were taught to be independent, competitive, and aggressive, and to use violence," while "girls were taught to be dependent, compliant, and fearful." If a similar study were done in Canada in 1997, would it have the same results? The author of this report made two suggestions for educating all students. These were: "making teachers and other school personnel aware of the damaging effects of their differential treatment of male and female students; and making students aware of the damaging effects of conformity to traditional sex role stereotypes."

According to David and Myra Sadker in their book Failing at Fairness (1994), schools have provided much better opportunities for boys than for girls (except in single-sex schools for girls). Boys receive more attention, are stimulated more, and receive more positive feedback on their participation. Girls are often regarded for neatness and good behaviour.⁴
Out-of-school science activities could be an excellent solution to pique the interest of young girls in science, mathematics and engineering. Many of these activities though may be inadvertently catering to boys' rather than to girls' needs. A s was done in British Columbia to assess the impact of several local o-school activities on girls' and boys' career choices⁵. It showed that the program which had the strongest impact on girls was a single-sex summer activity called "Girls in Science." (Two other single-sex programs did not rate as significantly in the girls' eyes as some of the co-ed ones.) In the co-ed programs, however, the boys responded much more favourably than girls to summer science camps, industrial tours, Shad Valley camps and Science Olympics. Girls responded more strongly than boys to public lectures, but equally to open houses and to presentations by role models.

Most of these extracurricular science programs are supported through public and private industry funding. Since they are available for children at such an early age (many are focused on grades five to eight), we should ensure that they work positively for both sexes, and especially that they make a difference for girls, who are obviously less likely to consider technology careers. Assessing the effectiveness of the programs doesn't mean expecting that 100 per cent of the children should become scientists or engineers. Typical goals could be: making young people more aware of careers in science and engineering and of how important it is to keep their options open by selecting science and mathematics courses in high school. The evaluation of such programs should assess whether the activities and the funding provide equal opportunities for both girls and boys, and policies should be developed to support gender balanced participation.

There are different views as to whether boys have a natural tendency towards mathematics and science, whether they receive more stimulation and encouragement from adults to apply themselves to these disciplines. A November 3, 1997 article in the Globe and Mail found that girls had better marks than boys (by at least four percentage points) in math tests grades three, six and eight. However, 59 per cent of the boys thought that they were good at math, and only 46 per cent of the girls thought that they were. This result suggests boys are over-confident and girls under-confident with respect to their abilities, and that cultural conditioning plays a part in girls' development and their veering away from the mathematical and science fields. We could also look at Eastern Europe, at least before the recent political changes, and how many of the engineering and technology education programs in those countries have achieved gender balance for several decades. Again cultural and societal factors rather than innate skills and abilities appear to be dominant when women and men choose a career or an educational program.

The Career Path

When women do decide to go into science and engineering at university, why do they cluster in certain engineering disciplines like environmental sciences and chemical engineering and avoid others? One explanation was proposed by a study by Sorenson et al in 1987.1 Researchers asked engineering students in a Norwegian university to rate symbols or artifacts associated with certain disciplines on a scale of masculinity, neutrality, or femininity. Artifacts rated high on the femininity scale were a machine for or packing fish, a typewriter, a telephone exchange. Symbols rated as neutral were fibre optics, a microscope, a dentist drill, scales. But the objects the students rated as masculine were an excavator, a cement mixer, an ore-melting oven, an electrical drill--symbols associated with mechanical engineering and construction. Add to these psychological associations the fears teenage women may have of being seen as masculine, it is not surprising many of them avoid careers in these fields perceived to be "male."

Anne van Beers studied women and men engineers in the Vancouver area in 1996⁷ to discover what made them choose certain careers. She found that women find a field attractive if it contains a high proportion of women. Women, she found, are more likely to be drawn to fields where they have a good knowledge or interest, and where they have a parent in the same field. One third of the women studied said that the choice of discipline was also an expression of their personal values and social interests.

Women are naturally attracted to the life and health sciences. They usually represent half the students in biology, in medicine, and over 90 per cent in nursing. If, therefore, the universities were to join the problem-solving aspect of engineering to topics in the life sciences, I am sure that the proportion of women choosing engineering would increase dramatically. Guelph University has taken that approach and the enrollment of women in its engineering school is now almost at par (46 per cent). Multi-disciplinary, "soft" disciplines such as biotechnology, water resource management and biomedical engineering are emerging as new and very important areas of research.

Solutions to reach a gender balance in all the disciplines are numerous. First we need to destroy the stereotypes attached to some of the disciplines, particularly electrical and mechanical engineering, by inviting women working in these fields to talk about their choice of careers. They must visit elementary schools to reach children early in their lives. In secondary schools they should tell girls to select all the mathematics and science courses they can, especially physics, chemistry, and advanced mathematics. These courses are needed to enter most engineering schools in Canada. We also need to engage the help of parents, teachers, and guidance counselors in encouraging young women to consider all the career opportunities, especially in the well paid high tech sector. Two reports are very helpful: R. Coulter's "Gender Socialization, New Ways, New World,"' and a booklet developed by the author's previous chair program, entitled "Leaving the Nest," which is now on the Web.⁹ Young women and men must be educated on the importance of achieving economic independence.

Making a Difference

In the end, do we expect that if more women enter the engineering technology sectors they will just be emulations of men? The answer is not simple. The women who have been attracted to these fields may be somewhat different from those entering the humanities and the health and social sciences. They seem to be more confident and career-oriented, and many are fairly at ease in a masculine or a feminine culture (are more androgynous). The predominantly masculine culture of the engineering programs may influence women during their study years.¹⁰ Then, when women enter the workforce, they may need to establish their credibility and excellence on terms and criteria set by the male majority.

In her 1996 study, however, van Beers noticed that a change begins to occur for some women (not all) when they have acquired experience and maturity in the field and can begin to assert their own style with more confidence. According to the author, these women begin to realize that some of their approaches and communication styles are different from many of the men around them (again, not all), and that they feel more comfortable doing things their own way. Some of the women feel they are introducing nurturing and social values in their work: they are conscious of being a role model, and enjoy the "people" side of the work such as teamwork and writing. In common with men, women are interested in problem-solving, having a stable income, and doing interesting work.

Why women leave the profession is also important to consider. Reasons they, often cited in van Beers' study and were: the existence of the Old Boys' network; a too-rigid work ethic; lack of flexible work options; harassment; and feeling not part of the decision process. Some things have begun to change in the past few years. There seems to be more openness in the- way business is carried out and in hiring and promotions. But there is still some way to go to achieve fairness and equity.

As for parental leave, it can be planned well in advance and creates much less disruption than sudden medical accidents. Besides, women are usually quite healthy when expecting a baby and during the parental leave can stay connected with the workplace from time to time through communication technologies. It is also becoming less unusual for men to take the parental leave once the infant is born.

Felice Schwartz, in her book Breaking with Tradition (1992)," found that often women delay having children until their career is established. She also compared the pattern of women and men in the workplace, and showed that both sexes opt for part-time work for a similar number of years: for women, part-time hours are taken during their early to mid-career years; for men, towards the end of their careers. Firms which allow flexibility to these well-trained employees (women or men) during the few years where they need to balance family and work reap a substantial financial benefit in the long run. They reduce staff turnover and thus the cost of hiring and training. In van Beers' study, women said that to succeed, you have to have a sense of humour, a tough skin, stubbornness, be a risk-taker, and be outspoken.

Approaches and technical solutions in information technology and in engineering have come from a homogeneous croup for far too long. Women might be able to take a new approach to their work and their colleagues, but will they have an impact on what technologies are developed? I suspect that this could happen when more women have been promoted to positions where they are part of the decision-making process. An alternative is for women to start their own technology businesses. Then they can really decide what they want to develop, how these technologies will look and how people will use them. What benefits there could be!

As for the profession of engineering, it has a choice: to integrate and value the attributes, approaches and ideas that women bring to the field, or to marginalize them. If our leaders begin to see how diversity %ill benefit engineering, and if they have respect for the differences, then women will finally take their rightful place in the ranks of the profession on their own terms. The profession will be richer for it. CCE

Dr. Monique Frize, P. Eng., O.C. is NSERC/Nortel Joint Chair in Women in Science and Engineering, jointly held at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. The above article is based on a keynote address she gave at the "Women in Technology" evening conference held at CASCON97 in Toronto in November, sponsored by IBM and the National Research Council of Canada.
¹Sorensen, K.H., "Towards a Feminized Technology? Gendered Values in the Construction of Technology," 1992, Social Studies of Science, 22 (1): 5-31.

²Ulomata, T.T., "Computer Games and Nigerian Children: The Effect of Socialization on Girls' Choice of Careers in Computerization." 1996, G.A.S.A.T. conference, http://www.wigsat.org/gasat/46.txt.
³ Baumgartnei--Papageorgiou A., "My Daddy Might Have Loved Me; student perceptions of differences between being male and being female." 1982 and 1992, reproduced by Sex Equity/Title IX Sex desegregation project, Division of Standards and Certification, New Hampshire Dept. of Education, Concord, NH.
⁴Sadker D. and Sadker M,, Failing at Fairness. How America's Schools Cheat Girls. 1994, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, and Maxwell Macmillan Canada.
⁵Vickers, M.H., Ching, H.L. and Dean, C.B., "Do Science Promotion Programs Make a Difference?" 1995, "More than just Numbers Conference" p.83-87. Faculty of Engineering, University of New Brunswick.
⁶Sorensen, K.H. and Berg, A.J., "Genderization of Technology Among Norwegian Engineering Students." 1987, Acta Sociologica, 30 (2): 151-171.
⁷Van Beers, A.M., "Gender and Engineering: Alternative Styles of Engineering."1996, M.A. thesis, Dept. of Anthropology and Sociology, University of British Columbia.
⁸Coulter, R., "Gender Socialization: New Ways, New World." 1993, Report of the Working Group of Status of Women Officials on Gender Equity in Education and Training. Published by the Province of British Columbia, Ministry of Women's Equality.
⁹See http://www.carleton.ca/wise
¹⁰Robinson, G.J. and McIlwee, J.S., "Men, Women, and the Culture of Engineering. " 1991, The Sociological Quarterly, 32 (3):403-421.
¹¹Schwartz, F.N. (with Jean Zimmerman), Breaking with Tradition. Women and Work, the new facts of life. 1992, Warner Books.