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Session 3249

Women in Engineering Technology: Where are they?

Timothy Brower, Harriet Cornachione Oregon Institute of Technology

Abstract

Despite substantial increases in the number of women entering law, medicine, and business ³ fields previously dominated by men, there is still a scarcity of women in the field of engineering. Women continue to lag behind men in their enrollment into engineering programs and, consequently, in their completion of engineering degrees. At Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) the disparity is especially acute in the engineering technology programs. One student-led initiative implemented to remedy Oregon Tech’s situation was with a diversity action grant obtained by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) student club. The ASME students, working in conjunction with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) club, developed and administered a one-day conference designed specifically for female high school students regarding engineering careers. A successful program resulted that has helped to focus attention on possible reasons for the disparity of women in engineering technology. In addition, from the collaborative effort of the ASME and SWE clubs, strategies have been conceived for the recruitment and retention of women in engineering programs at Oregon Tech.

I. Introduction

Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) is part of the public Oregon University System enrolling approximately 2500 students. Located in southernmost Oregon, just east of the Cascade Range, the college is central to an extensive rural population from which it draws a large percentage of its students. Oregon Tech consists of the School of Engineering, Technology & Management (ETM) and the School of Health and the Arts & Sciences (HAS). ETM offers 12 undergraduate 4-year Bachelor of Science Degree Programs accredited through the Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) housed in the following departments:

• Civil Engineering & Geomatics, • Computer Systems Engineering Technology, • Electronics Engineering Technology, • Management, and • Manufacturing & Mechanical Engineering Technology.

In the Fall of 1999, after a lengthy transition period to a Bachelor of Civil Engineering (BCE) from a Bachelor of Civil Engineering Technology (BCET) degree program, the Civil Engineering & Geomatics Department (CE&G) received accreditation of the BCE degree by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET. The Bachelor of Surveying Degree Program offered by CE&G is accredited by the Related Accreditation Commission (RAC) of

"Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright  2001, American Society for Engineering Education"

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Cornachione, H., & Brower, T. (2001, June), Women In Engineering Technology: Where Are They? Paper presented at 2001 Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 10.18260/1-2--10035