In a field like mechanical engineering where men are still considered dominant, it’s difficult for women to be on level ground despite the efforts of institutions to close the gender gap. The misconception deep-rooted from childhood observations that ‘engineering is only for men’ lingers around the industry, which lost great contributions from talented female supposed-to-be engineers.
Why does this sexism prevail in the mechanical engineering sector? Why do few women get interested – if they do, stay – in this field? Here are five reasons:
Misconceptions about mechanical engineering
As previously said, it is the misconceptions that hinder women to join mechanical engineering. For most of us, mechanical engineering sounds something like repairing old greasy machines. But that truth is that lubricants and grease are only a small part of the vast scope of the mechanical engineering work.
This old-fashioned thinking is propagated naturally without stop, which is why there are lesser women signing up for a mechanical engineering degree.
Fear of the working environment
Other than the work that is falsely thought to be of mechanical engineers, there is one more critical issue to be addressed about mechanical engineering: it is a world of men.
“I don’t want to work in an exclusively male environment,” some women would say. They are put off by the course because they are surrounded by men and men alone. Women like to talk about their stuff at work too, and want to be comfortable around their kind, but they don’t get that opportunity at all because of the false thought of the working environment.
Stereotyping
What hurts the mechanical engineering more is the stereotype of most people about the course. They say that there is not a single woman in the field anyway or someone who makes waves in the industry. Or that the field requires manual strength. That’s where they are wrong.
The work of mechanical engineers is not limited to only that. The scope is so wide that these engineers could enter the design sector, product development, or testing, among others.
More brawn than brains
It’s true that the mechanical engineering sector was more brawn than brains. But that was before. The industry has evolved to be more welcoming to women.
Mechanical engineer is not only a man’s job. Stereotypically, it may not come naturally to women because it deals with machines, but they sure can do what men can do no matter what it is.
Source: Engineering Clicks
