Exploratory study of factors that influence the decision of women to study engineering in Chile

Abstract

The main objectives of this work are to provide details of an exploratory research about women engineers in Chile and thus present results of the favorable labor situation of women engineers in Chile. The Chilean institutions of higher education offer a wide and varied proposal of higher studies in engineering with several majors. Despite this range of possibilities of studies in engineering, the number of women students is much lower than that of men, a situation not common in other university careers. The results show the relevance of mathematics and science education in primary and secondary school for women who complete an engineering career.