THE EFFECT OF OUTREACH PROGRAMS ON INCREASING FEMALE ENROLLMENT IN ENGINEERING

Abstract

The percentage of female undergraduate applicants and first-year student in engineering is increasing in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering (FASE) at the University of Toronto (UofT). Outreach programs are used to encourage high school students by gaining exposure and knowledge regarding the field of engineering. The effectiveness of these outreach programs in mitigating academic and social barriers is a key point of interest examined in the paper, specifically those catered directly to female students. This research analyzes the growing number of community outreach programs offered at the University of Toronto. We examined the effect of three outreach initiatives: the DaVinci Engineering Enrichment Program (DEEP), the Girls Leadership in Engineering Experience (GLEE), and the Young Women in Engineering Symposium (YWIES). Using statistical data from the FASE outreach office and participation feedback from the events, we compared the enrollment statistics, the percentage of students who chose engineering, and what students found most useful in events. Observations prove that although the events encourage the same number of female students entering engineering, however, suggest that eliminating social barriers and stereotypes influence the increasing number of female-enrollment.