McGill Journal of Education (Online) · 2007 · 20 citations · 14 references
EducationGender StudiesGenderStem EducationWomen's StudiesEngineering EducationGender DifferencesGender DiscriminationGender Norms In SchoolingWomen In Higher EducationWomen's EducationEducational ProgramsEquity In Engineering EducationGender Disparities In StemGender In Higher EducationGirls In Stem EducationStem Gender EquityWomen In EngineeringWomen's Stem Education
Women are under-represented in the engineering field. Although more than 50% of Canadian university students are female, they represent less than 25% of students enrolled nationally in engineering programs. Our study found that female high school students are as aware of engineering as a discipline as their male counterparts but are significantly less interested in pursuing a career in the field. Knowledge about engineering was correlated to having an engineer in the family but not to the type of schooling (co-educa- tional vs. all-girls) the girls received. Our study also shows that our high school outreach program, Discover Engineering, has a positive effect on the interest of students, particularly female students, to consider engineering careers.
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