Women in engineering: politics in the making of a statistical category

National narratives, made up mostly by images of a nation in crisis and defined by powerful social actors and have significantly shaped US policies and programs for education and training of women in engineering, as well as the latter´s significance as statistical categories for the American nation. Given the increasing importance of scientists and engineers in the fulfillment of US missions in the last four decades, educating, training, and having knowledge about scientists and engineers have become important activities for federal involvement, particularly through the US National Science Foundation (NSF). However, the creation and implementation of policies and programs in education and human resources results in struggles and encounters resistance from different actors involved in the education, training, and counting of scientists and engineers. Political struggles of the past 40 years (1960-2000) have shaped the US government´s programs for the education and training of women in engineering, and demonstrated how the government has defined women as statistical categories based on its understanding of “appropriate” national needs. In the discussion presented, we see how what was considered “appropriate” changed over time