How female engineering students learn

Julie Coates, my amazing co-author, has come up with more great info on one of the most critical issues of our time: can/should we increase female engineering students.

In a seminar for the School of Engineering at the University of Kansas last week, she noted that female engineering students learn BOTH like male engineering students, and like women in general.
   According to the literature, female engineering students have the same high capabilities in areas where male engineering students have high capabilities.
   At the same time, however, female engineering students have higher capabilities in areas where male engineering students have low capabilities, such as traditional female skills in communication and language.
   The info is critical in understanding this central issue in society, which will decide the fate and future of our skilled work force in the SET occupations (Science, Engineering and Technology) where we currently have a huge shortage.   Photo: Julie and KU female grad student Juan Mao.

Comments

[Suzanne]

I find this extremely interesting because I have a very close friend who is an engineer (and a guy). He's brilliant. His company sends him all over the world to install machinery. However, although he wanted to be put in the managerial track, he was put in the technical track.

My friend gets angry because he feels that women in his company are given preference for the managerial track. I really don't know if there's something fishy going on over there. However, I always thought that it's quite obvious that my friend is brilliant - and yet he's not always the most eloquent when it comes to sharing his brilliant ideas. I always wondered if the women who were being put in the management track were better at communicating.