With a higher percentage of degree holders than males, women have surpassed men in obtaining the top rank for more than 20 years. However, research revealed that women continue to be underrepresented in engineering degrees, even in today's culture. According to Census.gov, "despite making up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, women are still vastly underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce. Women made gains – from 8% of STEM workers in 1970 to 27% in 2019 – but men still dominated the field. Men made up 52% of all U.S. workers but 73% of all STEM workers.” Unfortunately, persistent gender stereotypes can discourage women from pursuing engineering professions. Most women who avoid going down the engineering career path do so because they think it will be difficult for them to have a flexible schedule and because they think they will always work extremely long hours weekly. These misconceptions may discourage women from pursuing engineering if they envision starting a family in the near future. However, the truth is that a lot of women who work in the engineering field manage to reconcile their personal and professional lives. There should be more women in the engineering field, no doubt. And in order to continue to grow the percentage of women in the engineering field, we first must eliminate the stereotype that women won’t succeed in engineering. In addition, it is important to shift the gender balance in the workplace, where women need to be given more opportunity to provide their distinctive views, concepts, and expertise. A diversified workforce, regardless of gender or ethnicity, stimulates the development of fresh ideas since each person has a distinct style of thinking. Therefore, it is important to continue encouraging and finding different ways to diversify the workforce for a better future.
