Increasing participation of women in the engineering curriculum

Undergraduate and graduate programs in engineering should strive to attract the best talent and resources to the discipline. These programs should provide students with a firm foundation in the relevant fundamentals and prepare students for effective positions in industry and academia. It is important that the fundamental theories be correlated with practical examples from industry, e.g. automotive, aerospace, and software industries, to demonstrate the applications of the theories and to excite the students to investigate other practical possibilities on their own. There are many challenging and fulfilling career options available in the engineering discipline after graduation. What are some of the barriers that are preventing women from participating fully in the engineering discipline and how can we overcome them? There are 3 phases where the situation of women participation in the engineering curriculum needs to be assessed: (1) pre-engineering education phase-recruitment; (2) engineering education phase-retention; and (3) post-engineering education phase-placement and advancement