Comments about ‘Engineering field needs a female perspective’

Lauren, you helped organize a wonderful program and a fantastic night and are a great example of someone who was blessed with great gifts, and who has worked hard to magnify them. You are a also a tribute to the U, other women and your family. Keep up the great work! Exxon is fortunate indeed to have a Chemical Engineer like you! Kudos to the University for sponsoring a great night for the young girls.

With the feminization of public education and the marginalization of boys, it was only a matter of time till women were steered into engineering. The problem is we have swung so far to the left now boys are largely ignored being easily outstripped in school by their more important female peers.

Both genders need to be encouraged. The focus on just one has been immensely harmful to the other.

Lost Boys--
"Both genders need to be encouraged. The focus on just one has been immensely harmful to the other."

Witness the difference in participation in Utah between the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts. It is a 20-30-fold difference in favor of the boys. Who is harmed by this? How can the discrepancy be rectified?

It certainly isn't at the cost of disregarding boys now is it?

That has been a growing problem in education as we unintentionally marginalize boys. We have more women in college than men now. While that IS a sign of progress for improving education for girls, the cost for boys caused by neglect is going to be putting the US further behind. What we need is to teach to both genders, not just one or the other. As a male teacher, I have seen this imbalance and the negative impacts brought with it. We must care more for ALL children and see to it they get a quality education regardless of gender.

I would hardly think that encourageing girls into the field of engineering was marginalizing males since there are only 6 to 7 precent of girls taking up engineering, I don't think anything is being taken away from male students. Yes, all children need to be encouraged to get a full education but the end decision is the person's to go on to higher education. Just how has education been "feminized", do you mean because more field have been opened to women and they are going for it? That does not marginalize boys it just leveled the playing field a bit more. If as you say males are being left behind maybe they need to realize the world has changed somewhat and it is not just a man's world after all.

As another educator/witness to the marginalization of boys, I see no problem with encouraging girls to be engineers.

However, let's not forget the boys. They end up filling more spaces in the jails when they don't match up to their counterparts.

It's not just girls not going into Engineering.
I'm an aerospace engineer at Boeign in Seattle.

We recruit heavily -- men and women, and about 15-20% of our workers come from the places like - India, Japan, China, Europe, etc.

When I was a kid, parents wanted their kids to grow-up to be a Doctor, a Lawyer or and Engineer.

The truth is, Engineers today make 50% less more than they did 20 years ago. Who wants to commit that kind of time and money into an education that pays far-less than an Elementary School teacher, the construction worker or the guy hawking AmWay?

Bankers, Lawyers and Government employees are the only high paying jobs these days.
Gaddianton Robbers.

Education has gradually adjusted itself beginning with the seventies towards teaching methods and learning styles that appeal more to girls than boys. The effect on boys is painfully evident, just as much as the gains our wonderful girls have made. Our public education system is set up for girls to be the most successful, because they are the gender willing to play the games for the grade.

Many boys now lack task completion abilities because of this movement. Teachers give so much busy work, stuff the kids know how to do already, that many boys get to a point where they have had enough and just quit. They stop learning and start disrupting. Why should they continue proving they know something just to get a grade? Girls don't use this sort of argument as often, so it is more of a boy trait.

We treat these boys as problems, prescribe drugs for ADHD, ADD and other learning differences because we don't relate to boys learning styles anymore in public education.

The gains that have been made for girls have been tremendous. I want them to remain and expand. However, we must not forget boys need education too.

What is the real value of a demale perspective?

Whether you are building a bridge or building or whatever,

the math and science DO NOT CHANGE based on gender of the engineer.

This is nothing but utter nonsense,

and takes away more jobs and opportunities from men and boys,

and another full frontal assault on God's mandated roles for men and women.

This is NOT to say that women should not get all education they should, they should.

But everything comes at cost or the expense of another.

To Rick: are you honestly saying that teachers now make more than engineers?

I'd love to see those stats! Last time I checked, I'd have to run 15-20 years as a teacher (with a MS/MA) just to reach some engineering 1st year salaries.

Let face it. Men might be stronger-- and that is questionable in some cases, but women are most definitely smarter then most men, if they aren't being brow beaten down by men.

Girls/Ladies/Women,
let me first introduce reality into this discussion. In Utah, there are not to few girls going into engineering there are to few engineering jobs in Utah. If your willing to leave the homestead and venture outside the Zion Curtain, no problem, you'll find plenty of firms are looking to increase diversity and will jump at the chance to hire females and minorities.

If I could do it all over again, I would like to be a software engineer and create nonviolent video games -- the kind of computer games I myself would play. I don't like violent games. There must be an untapped market out there for video games females would enjoy.

Like the article said, design teams need those who think in different ways.