Engineering Equality as Important as Job Availability

by Sharon Richardson

According to the National Science Foundation's biennial reports, Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering, certain groups continue to be underrepresented in science, engineering and technology. And while much talk surrounds the question of whether a shortage of engineers exists, many believe an issue just as worthy of debate and action is engineering equality.

In a September 2003 Computing Research News article, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) stated that, “women often have trouble advancing in math, science and technology because they lack equal access to financial aid.” He said that in academia evidence indicates discrimination toward both underrepresented students and faculty members. Women in science and math often find themselves pushed into traditional roles, such as teaching, while their male counterparts receive almost all of the research fellowships, which pay more completely for graduate school. In addition, without a research background, women are less likely to obtain tenure-track faculty positions, which carry higher pay and prestige.

Sen. Wyden said that Title IX should be heavily enforced, because…“it’s the smart thing to do.” Title IX states that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefit of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Underrepresented Groups Deterred Early On

Quiet Crisis, a Building Engineering & Science Talent (BEST) report, noted that girls who complete high school with the same mathematics and science achievements as their male counterparts, face a host of pressures that deter many from continuing further. Even those from underrepresented groups, who stay the course to higher education, drop out of science and engineering majors.

What of the Shortage?

On the issue of engineering shortages, Michael S. Teitelbaum, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation program director said that “where one stands depends upon where one sits.” In his report, “Do We Need More Scientists?” published in The Public Interest in the fall of 2003, Teitelbaum said, “most of the assertions of current or impending shortages, gaps or shortfalls have originated from four sources: university administrators and associations; government agencies that finance basic and applied research; corporate employers of scientists and engineers and their associations; and immigration lawyers and their associations… Instead of raising the false flag of shortages, those concerned about the future of science and engineering in the United States should encourage objective appraisals of current career paths, as well as innovations in higher and continuing education designed for more agile adjustments to inevitable changes in these dynamic fields.”

Teitelbaum said the overarching goal should be to find ways to make science and engineering careers attractive relative to the alternatives. “This is the only sustainable way to ensure a supply commensurate with the United States’ and engineering ends.”

IEEE-USA’s Position

The IEEE-USA supports encouraging young women, minorities, people with disabilities and the disadvantaged to view engineering as a viable and rewarding career choice. In its position, Career Equality in Engineering, IEEE-USA states that for the United States to maintain its economic and technological competitiveness, the engineering profession must make more effective use of the knowledge, skills and abilities of talented human resources, regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability. To read more about this IEEE-USA position or about what IEEE-USA is doing on behalf of U.S. members in this regard, go to www.ieeeusa.org/forum/POSITIONS/careerequality.html.

 

---

Sharon Richardson is staff assistant for communications and government relations at IEEE-USA in Washington, D.C. She is also an assistant editor for IEEE-USA's quarterly newsletter, IEEE-USA News & Views.