The Advent of Women in Engineering

The advent of women in the engineering profession spans back to the 1800s however the numbers associated with this time period are very low. World War II in the 1940s was the time period where women began to be significanyly introduced to the field. This was due to the need for women to contribute in national defense as a large percentage of males were sent abroad to participate in the war. Manpower shortages led to major American companies including General Electric and Grumman Aircraft recruiting and training women as engineering aides. 

 This time also saw an increase in women enrollment at engineering schools and colleges in general across the country. However as the war ended these college trained women continue dto enter the conventionally gendered low paying fields such as bookkeeping and nursing. A plethora of gender stereotypes left female engineering students of the postwar stuck within these roles. Qualified women engineers were also sterotyped based on societal concerns on their ability to dedicate themselves to their engineering jobs while balancing relationships and family lives. Success in an engineering career in the 20th century meant long and extended workdays. The concern regarding the ability of women to handle this and simultaneously commit to a family life led to the formation of many stereotypes in the workplace.

The female engineering students who chose not to marry at the culturally standard age seemed to verify the doubts about whether they were "real women." These stereotypes prevailed for decades and female engineering students encountered countless instances of workplace discriminiation where employers refused to consider them seriously for roles that they were qualified for. These stereotypes tended to be reflected in evaluations and promotions which placed women at a serious disadvantage.

There also existed the stereotype that "boys do better at math" and this foundational belief was evident even in the workplace. Additionally alot of career choices are influenced by parental figures and since there were not alot of mothers in the engineering profession, many young girls never were encouraged to pursue a career in the field.

In face of these challenges, female engineers of the postwar period formed organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers where they were able to give each other mutual support and provide career counseling, mentoring and psychological support. The US subsequently saw an increase of 763 females enrolled in engineering majors in 1949 to 1783 by the year 1957.