Women, engineering and gender equality: Brazil and United States pathway

Abstract

The task of discussing gender equity in society remains challenging, and new systemic strategies are needed to increase women’s participation in leading professions. Two decades after the 21st century, inequality between men and women continues to produce detrimental effects that reproduce past discriminatory behaviors and actions. We argue that professional training, financial support, economic autonomy, and structural adjustments are essential for women to overcome barriers of gender equity. Likewise, realizing that countries have expressly indicated that technology, engineering, and innovation are essential to development, we intend to focus our attention to the male domination in the field of engineering. We will analyze women’s enrollment in engineering courses in Brazil to explain why men are a demographic majority in the profession. Given this international reality, we also plan to show how access to the knowledge areas of engineering and disparities in the study of engineering is also relevant in the United States. This study finds that the knowledge gap begins with differential socialization and development of girls and boys, who are presented with stereotypes that permeate and influence their perceptions, professional choices, and performance in the workplace. Fewer girls than boys choose engineering as a field and after the first 20 years of service, greater than 30% of women have not remained in the engineering field. Even when women are technically prepared, they may experience stereotype threat, which can adversely impact their performance in the field.