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Women's Enrollment in Engineering is Dropping The new economy will require over 2 million new computer engineers by the year 2006, according to projections by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Surprisingly, a smaller proportion than today may be women. That's because while female enrollment in once male-dominated educational realms like business and law is rapidly moving toward parity, computer programs are lagging far behind. In fact the number of women in college computer programs nationwide has dropped to its lowest point in 20 years, according to the Computing Research Association in D.C. That's true locally as well. "We are very concerned about the drop in number in women enrolled in our program," said Zorica Pantic-Tanner, director of San Francisco State University's school of engineering, which has seen women's enrollment drop from a steady 20 percent of the student body a decade ago to 16 percent today. "Recruitment and retention of women is a top priority." Charlotte Yan, an engineering major at the University of California at Berkeley, where 22 percent of undergraduate engineering majors are women, has two views of the shortage of women in her field. As vice president of the campus chapter of the Society for Women Engineers - an international organization devoted to promoting women's participation in the profession - the college senior is concerned about the under-representation of women in her field. Yan is working hard on out-reach efforts to elementary, middle and high school girls to educate them about the profession in an effort to increase women's enrollment in engineering programs. "Part of the problem is that young women and girls aren't educated that this is a career option," said Yan. "It's that old story about girls not being given the chance to excel in math or science." But as a soon-to-be graduate entering the job market, Yan feels that being a woman gives her an edge in the field. "I think that women may have more opportunities than men right now," she said. "I'm doing a lot of interviewing this semester with great companies who want to bring women into the work force." "It makes me feel kind of special," continued Yan. "The university really looks out for us women. And job prospects are good. Really good." Others say that women's undergraduate enrollment numbers may be telling only half the story. "My take on the low enrollment numbers is that women, like men, are bypassing undergraduate engineering degrees because the high-tech industry doesn't require them," said Elahe Enssani, the faculty advisor to the San Francisco State University's chapter of the Society for Women Engineers. Instead, says Enssani, women are opting for certificate programs in Java or C++ programming that land them jobs in the high-tech sector in a matter of months, rather than the four years a bachelor's degree requires. Indeed, community college certificate programs in computer programming are at all-time highs - so much so that many two-year programs and computer learning centers are having trouble hiring qualified teaching staff fast enough to meet the demands of student enrollment. In the meantime, women with engineering credentials will likely be able to write their own ticket when entering a field where they are in great demand. Anita Wadhwani |
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