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1. Footprints of Women in Engineering
By
D.R.Bhagyashree (B.Tech II Year)
G.Geetha (B.Tech II Year)
Velammal College of Engineering & Technology
Viraganoor,
Madurai – 625 009

2. Abstract
With women accounting for more than 50% of the world population, achieving gender
parity is an issue of global concern. It has now been demonstrated conclusively that social as
well as economic development of a country is closely linked to the educational level of its
female population. Several factors influence the fact that girls are participating less and show
less motivation to take parting science education. Some of the reasons are related to
differences in ways boys, girls learn, and the content of science education reflected in gender-
biased curricula, textbooks, which are not related to women’s and girls’ concerns and
interests. Many of these factors are bound up with cultural and societal influences. Being a
woman in engineering industry is different from being a man in engineering industry. Not
better, not worse, but different. Gone are the days when female engineers were masculine,
grim women who were constantly exhausting themselves to be considered equal to men. The
nouveau woman engineer is ambitious, comfortable in her own skin, strong, intelligent and
feminine. This paper contains the path, women entered in to engineering field and the initial
phase of difficulties they faced. The facts and reasons, which were dragged them in to
Engineering field, are explained. The main difficulties and hurdles are discussed once they
entered in to the field. The different field of study shows that women choose engineering
mainly because they enjoy the underlying mathematics and science. Working professionals in
industry or government perceive that women assume a more indirect, supporting role;
however, women overall strongly affirm their selection of engineering despite some negative
factors. The comparison graphs and charts show the exponential growth of women engineers
in the recent past. This number shows that the negative factors are not playing a huge role.
Participation of women in the engineering profession is important from the viewpoint of
national development. It is also an important factor in improving the quality of life of women
themselves.
Keywords: Women Engineers, Surveys, Maths and Science

3. Introduction and Entry into Engineering Field
Engineering originated in the fifteenth century as a means of describing the military endeavor
of designing mechanical devices for warfare. Because of its birth in the military women were
automatically excluded from engineering. After the Renaissance, the term engineering moved
away from military to construction of the Italian canals, design and building of roads and
bridges in Europe. In the nineteenth century, focus of engineering was significantly expanded
with the development of steam engine and mechanics. These aspects augmented the need for
formal education. Until 1824, neither school admitted women.
By the end of the nineteenth century, electrical and chemical engineering were followed
closely behind Mechanical and civil Engineering. Many women were learned engineering
through on job training and not through formal education. In the late of nineteenth century,
colleges opened their way to women.
Impacts of World Wars
During world war, women were encouraged to participate in the work force and support the
war effort, which included engineering jobs through apprenticed, but after the war, many men
came home expecting to be gainfully employed. Most of the women who had been employed
found themselves no longer welcome in the workforces. Young girls who did express
technical interests were often deliberately discouraged by negative remarks from family or
teachers.
Some institutes used women for a weapon to raise funds. That accelerated the rate of women
admitted to the Engineering studies. Excellence in math and science was a primary factor
propelling respondents toward engineering. When asked why they went into engineering, the
reasons most often given by men were (a) they had been dream from their childhood (b)
their family members had encouraged them (c) they had been interested in mechanics or
electronics. For women most often given were, they had been good at math and science.
These factors were opened the door for Women to enter the engineering world.
The Hurdles and Answer:
The following myth and reality shows the hurdles which are not allowed the women in to
engineering field and the reality.
Myth 1:
Women have less aptitude for science than men.
Reality:

4. There is no convincing evidence that women’s representation in science is limited by innate
ability. Substantive research data available today indicate that overall intelligence does not
differ between men and women, and there is no convincing evidence that women’s
representation in science is limited by innate ability
Myth 2:
Women today are as free as men to pursue and advance in the scientific careers of their
choice.
Reality:
In most societies, women hold the main family responsibilities and are expected to combine
career and family commitments, often putting the needs of their spouse’s career ahead of
theirs. Although women have better access to education and employment in scientific fields
today than ever before, the playing field is not a level one. As women increasingly enter and
try to move up in traditionally male-dominated professions, they often face unfriendly
organizational structures and policies that push them back. Even though women and men face
many similar hurdles in science, women are more likely to falter because they lack role
models, support systems to help them balance family and work, and professional networks
that men can tap into more easily.
Myth 3:
Women in science are recognized and rewarded in terms equal to their male counterparts with
similar abilities.
Reality:
Women in science have to work harder than their male counterparts to prove themselves,
sacrifice family priorities or face risky situations in order to be treated at par with their male
colleagues.
Footprints of Women in Science and Engineering Fields
The above myths lead to the presence of women in science, particularly physical science and
Engineering is very low. India is no exception. But these hurdles are not applicable to
everyone in the engineering field, the following famous persons put their footprint our today
topic.
• Marie Curie: Nobel Prize received jointly with Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel)
and Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1911.
Marie Curie is possibly the world’s most famous woman scientist. She was born in
Poland but went to Paris to study at the Sorbonne, where she met her husband Pierre, who
was a physics professor. Following his death in 1906 she became Professor of General
Physics and later Director of the Curie Laboratory in the Radium Institute of the University of

5. Paris. She worked under difficult laboratory conditions, and had to teach a great deal. Henri
Becquerel discovered radioactivity in 1896, and this inspired the Curies in their great
research, which led to the discovery of Polonium and Radium. During the first World War
Marie Curie devoted herself to using radium to alleviate suffering. She was recognised and
admired during her lifetime, received numerous awards, and is still revered as one of the most
important scientists ever to have lived. She did, however, have to struggle a great deal to
obtain research funding and support, particularly after the death of her husband. She died of
leukemia in 1934 at the age of 67. Her life story is one of great courage and determination.
• Irene Joliot-Curie: Nobel Prize 1935 – received jointly with Frederic Joliot
Irene Joliot-Curie was the daughter of Marie Curie, born in Paris in 1897 and was
married to Frederick Joliot. She served as a nurse radiographer during the fi rst world war,
which interrupted her studies in science in Paris. She received a doctorate in Science in 1925,
on the alpha rays of polonium. Their Nobel Prize was received for their synthesis of new
radioactive elements. She was appointed a lecturer in 1932 in the Faculty of Science, in 1937
a Professor and later Director of the Radium Institute in 1946. She was a member of the
Comite National de l’Union des Femmes Francaises and of the World Peace Council. She was
appointed Undersecretary of State for scientific research in 1936 and was a member of several
foreign academies and scientific societies, and had a number of honorary doctorates. She died
in Paris in 1956. She was survived by a daughter and a son.
• Gerty Cori: Nobel Prize 1947 – received jointly with Carl Cori and Bernardo
Houssay
Gerty Cori was born in Prague in 1896 and studied at the German University of Prague,
receiving a doctorate in medicine in 1920. In 1922, She immigrated to America with her
husband Carl. They had one son. She was made a Professor of Biochemistry in 1947 at St.
Louis. The Coris collaborated in much of their research work and wrote many articles
together. Their studies in biochemistry included work on the effects of insulin and
epinephrine, work on carbohydrate metabolism, the pituitary gland and the enzymatic
synthesis of glucose
• Gertrude B Elion: Nobel Prize 1988 – received jointly with Sir James W Black
and George H Hitchings
Gertrude Elion was born in New York City in 1918. She had a Lithuanian immigrant father
and Russian mother. Her father was a dentist. She went to a good public school in the Bronx.
Her grandfather died of cancer when she was 15 and this motivated her to study something
that might lead to a cure for the disease. She entered Hunter College in 1933, and decided to
major in chemistry. Because of the depression and discrimination against women in the
sciences she was not able to go on to graduate school and so got an unpaid job as a laboratory
assistant for a chemist. After saving her stipends she went to graduate school at New York
University in 1939. She was the only woman in her graduate chemistry class. While studying
she taught chemistry, physics and science at New York City schools. She obtained her M Sc
in 1941. After a number of laboratory jobs she obtained a research assistant position with Dr.
George Hitchings and developed from an organic chemist into working in microbiology,
biochemistry, pharmacology, immunology and eventually virology. After some years of doing

6. a doctorate part-time, she made the decision to give up her doctorate and continue with her
job. She later received a number of honorary doctorates! Her research focused on nucleic acid
biosynthesis and the enzymes involved with it, and she concentrated on the purines.
Eventually her work and that of her colleagues led to new drugs addressing real medical
needs. She became head of department at the Wellcome Research laboratories in 1967, a
position she held until 1983. She was associated with the National Cancer Institute from 1960,
the American Cancer Society, and the World Health Organisation and was a member of
numerous academic societies. After her retirement from the Wellcome laboratory, she became
a research Professor of Medicine and pharmacology at Duke University. Gertrude Elion
invented the leukemia-fighting drug 6-mercaptopurine in 1954. Her research led to the
development of Imuran, a drug that aids the body in accepting transplanted organs, and
Zovirax, a drug used to fight herpes. Including 6-mercaptopurine, her name is associated with
45 patents. She never married.
• Christiane Nusslein-Volhard: Nobel Prize 1995 – received jointly with Edward
B Lewis and Eric F Wieschaus)
Christiane Nusslein-Volhard was born in 1942 in Germany. Her father was an architect and
his father a professor of medicine. They lived in Frankfurt and she was encouraged in her
academic pursuits by her parents. She knew very early on that she wanted to be a biologist as
she was interested in animals and plants. When she finished high school she considered
becoming a doctor, but after working in a hospital for a short while, decided against it. She
started biology at Frankfurt University, but became drawn into physics and then moved into
biochemistry at Tubingen University. She also became interested in microbiology and
genetics. As a graduate student she worked in a chemistry laboratory on DNA sequencing
techniques and developed a new method for large-scale purification of very clean RNA
polymerase. She finished her thesis in 1973 as a molecular biologist. In 1975 she went to
post-doctoral research in Basel working in genetics with Drosophila (flies). She won the
Nobel Prize for her work in identifying genes that affect the development of the fruit fly.
Their findings led to a better understanding of how a single fertilized egg develops into a
complex multicellular organism. This has application in explaining congenital defects in
humans. She is currently director of the Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology and
has become involved in projects encouraging and supporting women in science.
• Linda B Buck: Nobel Prize 2004 – received jointly with Richard Axel
Linda Buck, the most recent winner of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was born
in 1947 in Seattle, USA. She studied at the Universities of Washington and Texas, going on to
work at Columbia University and then Harvard. She has received numerous awards and
honours. Her expertise and research interests are in the area of sensing of odors and
pheromones. The work of Linda Buck and Richard Axel was the first to define in detail one of
our sensory systems, by defining the genes and proteins that control olfactory response. She
currently works at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre.
Facts and Figures
Women represent more than half the population, and 46% of the U.S. workforce, but just
24% of those working in science and engineering combined, and only 10% of the engineering

7. workforce. Eurostat figures show that only 29% of Europe's scientists and engineers were
women in 2004.
Indian women still do not have the same access to education and literacy but primary
education in India is not universal. Overall, the literacy rate for women is 39 percent versus
64 percent for men (Womenís Education in India, October 1998). Womenís representation in
technical field is growing. For example, the percentage of women engineers graduating has
grown from 1.8% in 1972 to 15% in 2005. The below chart shows the women contribution in
engineering field.
The percentage enrolment of women in engineering colleges and institutions has increased
substantially since the period of the aforementioned study. Today in some states, it ranges
from 25 to 30% . Taking into account the fact that the number of engineering colleges have
also increased radically, the annual out-turn of women engineering graduates has increased
many times. Compared to the earlier years therefore, the population of women engineers is
growing at a much faster pace.
In 1970 the enrolment of women engineers was 910. This increased to 26, 4370 in 1995. The
share of women in the engineering enrolments increased from 16% in 1995 to 22% in 2001.
In 2001, 22% of the students admitted to B.Tech / B.E. programmes in India were women.
The corresponding percentage for M.Tech / M.E. was 16% and PhD was about 17%.

8. Even though here we show some aspects and statistics about Women Engineers, still the ratio
is not 50 percentages. In order to achieve the result various organizations and UNESCO
suggested some points. The main points are as follows,
Specific objectives include:
1. Promoting a positive image of women in scientific and technological careers;
2. Sensitizing parents, teachers, educators, school administrative staff, curriculum
developers and trainers to counter gender stereotypes with regard to science careers;
3. Improving access of girls to scientific and technological education by providing clear
ideas of career opportunities.
4. Providing teachers with the necessary career guidance tools to meet the needs of
female learners seeking careers in science and technology.
References:
1. Women in Engineering – GENDER, POWER, and WORKPLACE CULTURE by
JUDITH S.MCILWEE and J.GREGG ROBINSON
2. Women in Engineering – Pioneers and Trailblazers by Margaret E. Layne
3. IEEE – Women in Engineering Magazine Winter 2007/2008 Volume 1, Number 1
4. The state of Women and Technology Fields around the world, Anita Borg Institute,
Caroline Simard
5. Women in the Information and Communication Technology Sector by Tina James,
Ronel Smith, Joan Roodt, Natasha Primo, Nina Evans
6. Women in Engineering in Europe - a large scale quantitative and qualitative
examination, Alice E. Smith, Berna Dengiz.
7. Girls into Science - A training module – United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation.
8. Job Status and Career Profile of Women Engineers in India - P. P. Parikh, R. Bindu
and S. P. Sukhatme
9. Engineering Education in India – Rangan Banerjee, Vinayak P. Muley