Female students ‘disconnected’ with engineering

According to statistics, 84.5 per cent of those studying an engineering degree are male, whilst a mere 15.4 per cent are female. Elsewhere, Network Rail is to launch a new drive to attract female engineers after its research revealed girls as young as seven have an “unconscious bias” against the profession. However, despite calls from within the engineering industry for more gender balance, many female students remain disillusioned.

The Student Engineer spoke to two female students about how women perceive engineering. Anjali Yadav is a former engineering student at Warwick University, and Jasmine Cordero will start her course at Queen Mary’s University later this September. Anjali claims the issues lie in “the awareness of engineering to students”, rather than university attitudes towards females in engineering. Jasmine also stresses the importance of “educating females of the different opportunities available in the engineering field”.