Here is what WiE are reading

It’s 1957, and GW published its April 1957 Mecheleciv journal, featuring a woman student standing in front of Tompkins Hall of Engineering on the cover. The “quaint” material within included a Faculty Page for Women, a full-page photo titled “A Woman Studies Engineering,” and the illuminating article titled “So You’re an Engineer!”

While somewhat amusing, the journal excerpts here offer a window into the past while reminding us that as a society, we still have a long way to go toward acceptance of women engineers. As the author of the featured article says, “ To be a woman in engineering, you should either enjoy being in the limelight occasionally or be completely oblivious to other people.”

Check out a review of this article. Professor Anthony Abraham Jack describes his experiences as a student for whom everything was new at the University. He describes what he knew, what others knew (more than he) and what he wants you to know about going to college.

Want to read a foundational paper on women in engineering? Beyond Bias and Barriers, published by the National Academy of Sciences, is a great place to start. Beyond Bias and Barriers explains that eliminating gender bias in academia requires immediate overarching reform, including decisive action by university administrators, professional societies, federal funding agencies and foundations, government agencies, and Congress. If implemented and coordinated across public, private, and government sectors, the recommended actions will help to improve workplace environments for all employees while strengthening the foundations of America's competitiveness.

Another foundational text on the issues of women in STEM is the American Association of University Women publication Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This 2010 report looks at the issue of the leaky pipeline that brings girls and women into STEM. The text reviews issues of environment and society including stereotypes, gender bias, and the climate of science and engineering departments in colleges and universities — that continue to block women’s progress in STEM. The report also includes statistics on girls’ and women’s achievement and participation in these areas and offers new ideas for what each of us can do to more fully open scientific and engineering fields to girls and women.

The National Academy of Sciences report “Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine,” published in 2018, is a summary of the issues related to sexual harassment, the definitions of harassment, and evidence-based recommendations as a road map for colleges and universities to consider and adapt to their particular circumstances.