Page 44 - Engineering Career Guide for UT Austin

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OK,let’s be real. The engineering profes-
sion is dominated by white males.
Always has been. But that’s not its
future. The profession is embracing diversity — not
only because that’s the right thing to do, but be-
cause it’s essential to quality engineering. As
David C. Munson, former dean of the University
of Michigan’s College of Engineering, explains:
“Diverse teams produce better answers, and
there’s research to back that up.” The American
Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) agrees:
“We learn from those whose
experiences, beliefs, and per-
spectives are different from
our own.” Moreover, as Munson
says, to keep America competi-
tive, “we cannot continue to
draw students from only a
quarter of the population.
That makes no sense at all.”
Accordingly, America’s engineering schools are
making big efforts to recruit and enroll more stu-
dents from underrepresented groups. Engineering
schools now typically host a wide variety of groups
— such as the Society of Women Engineers, the Na-
tional Society of Black Engineers, and the Society of
Hispanic Professional Engineers — that offer women
and minority students support and guidance.
So if you think engineering is where you be-
long, you’re right — no matter who you are or
where you’re from.
Engineering
schools are
working hard
to attract and
retain women
and minorities.
REACHING
THE GOAL
support
While engineering continues to be a white-male
dominated field, the number of degrees earned
by women over the last few years has now risen
to 24 percent of the total degrees awarded.
Hispanic degrees awarded have also shown
small increases. Degrees awarded to African-
Americans have remained relatively flat and total
just under 5 percent. Many universities are
committed to reaching out to minority groups
and women, and some host summer camps and
other opportunities for high school students.
ENGINEERING, BY THE NUMBERS
SCHOOLS THAT GRADUATE THE MOST WOMEN
1. Georgia Institute of Technology
2. University of Michigan
3. Purdue University
4. Texas A&M University
5. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
6. University of California, Irvine
7. University of California, Berkeley
8. University of Florida
9. Virginia Polytechnic Institute
10. University of Alabama in Huntsville
SOURCE: AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION, 2021 DATA
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