As an introvert trapped in an extravert’s body, I’ve sold my soul to some extent and raised my hand as a volunteer for a number of roles that aim to promote engineering as a premier career. I’ve shamelessly spilled the sales pitch of my university degree to prospective students, I’ve exuberantly encouraged recent graduate to apply for a job with my employer, and I’ve talked until exhaustion to many-a-school-kid about why they should become an engineer and not a doctor or a lawyer. My need to promote my profession has slowly evolved into an addiction. So, in an effort to assure myself that I am not suffering from some chronic illness, I have to really ask, “why am I doing this? What is engineering anyway?”
School kids and grown adults alike will tell you that the engineer is the one with the hard hat on and plans under HIS arm (or something along those lines). They build bridges, approve plans for your new home and generally tend to have ‘the knack’ with stuff. There are no sexy dramas on TV about engineering firms and even your maths teacher can’t give you a straight answer. With such little main-stream attention on the subject I need to make sure I have a decent answer when asked about my profession and, while it may be succinct, I’ve always tended to fall back on Engineers Australia’s definition whenever I’m in doubt:
“Engineering is the art and science of production”[1].
It’s not a new definition but I think it highlights something that hasn’t been addressed by the institution in the past – the world, and even those living in ‘engineers land’, tend to get caught up on the science part and never seem to embrace the artistic and creative aspects that are needed to be a great engineer. No wonder we are considered to be second to accountants on the boring list! (no offence accountants, it’s just an observation). And how do we expect to be able to attract people, especially women, to the profession when it seems like being an engineer is about as exciting as living in a broken lottery ball mixing machine – too many numbers to deal with and not much chance of getting a million dollars out of it. If we’re competing with the fast-paced lifestyle tendencies of Gen Ys and Zs (all e-culture inspired of course) then surely we don’t even have a gun let alone a silver bullet solution.
The stereotype has to be changed to reflect who we really are and what we really do. Understandably, this will take time and there’s no doubt that The Year Of Women In Engineering has helped to make giant leaps towards shifting those perception. In particular, the year highlighted the many elements that women often bring to the profession, creativity being one of them.
It may seem hard at first but creativity, like most skills, can be developed if practiced often enough, although it helps to have natural flair to kick start the development process. This particular aspect of engineering appeals to many women and girls, and we need to demonstrate how a creative mind can enhance analytical process in an effort to attract more women to the profession. But to sell the creative or ‘art’ aspect, it has to be true (I can’t sell my soul forever). So get out there and actively practice being creative and use it to improve the art of engineering. Be inspired by nature and adaptation. Draw on other professions to solve problems or develop new products or processes. Become a better communicator (having a great idea means nothing if you can’t let others know about it). Take the scenic route, if only once in your life, to give you a little more perspective and appreciation for what you are used to. Be the engineer you imagined you would become when you first enrolled in your course. It’s a premier career; take advantage of it before you retire.
Rebecca Tilbrook, GradIEAust
Chair, Women In Engineering Tasmania
wietas@gmail.com | www.womeninengineeringtasmania.com
1. From “The Engineering Profession: A Statistical Overview”, Engineers Australia, March 2006 4th Edition
Some of us on the committee in Tasmania have been reading a truly thought provoking article from the Harvard Business Review – “Leadership : A new picture emerges for why women don’t make it into the C-suite. It’s not the glass ceiling but the sum of many obstacles along the way”. [1]
The authors propose that instead of thinking of a single barrier to women’s progression to the highest level jobs (CEO, CFO, Chair, etc), we should recognise a labyrinth. Not a single absolute obstacle, that is invisible until you get up close, but a complex maze with twists, turns and distractions which it is possible to negotiate.
The key obstructions indentified in the article are:
The studies referenced in the article found that there are still people who are prejudiced – and making decisions which affect women’s careers: “a general bias against women appears to operate with approximately equal strength at all levels”. That’s you and me being affected, not just those women getting close to the corner office.
They also found that the qualities people expect to see in women are not consistent with those qualities people expect to see in leaders – thus resistance to female leadership and issues with leadership style. For example, leaders “should” be aggressive, ambitious, dominant, self-confident, foreceful, self-reliant and individualistic. Women “should” be affectionate, friendly, helpful, kind, sympathetic, interpersonally sensitive, gentle and softly spoken.
One of the many confronting aspects of this is that it’s people who are resisting female leaders and confused about whether women can be “good” leaders and “good” women at the same time. It’s not just Brian Harradine carrying on about Julia Gillard not being a mother – it’s all, or many, of us. You, me, our co-workers, our friends, our family members. People we know, and generally like and respect.
So, what about for the next month, we all think – and talk – really carefully about leadership? What it is, what it takes and who has got it? And really carefully notice our own thoughts, challenge our own underlying assumptions. And those of others around us.
We can’t all implement the changes recommended in the article (change the long hours norm[2], reduce the subjectivity of performance evaluation, use open recruitment tools, ensure a critical mass of women in executive positions, avoid having a sole female member of any team[3], help shore up social capital, prepare women for line management, allow employees more time to prove themselves worthy of promotion, welcome women back and encourage male participation in family-friendly benefits), but we can all start changing the little bit of world around us – starting with our own minds.
[1] Alice H Eagly and Linda L Carly, Harvard Business Review, September 2007, p 63-71
[2] More on that another time, maybe
[3] Better delve more deeply into this one too!
It has now been some 6 weeks since the Promoting Professional Women (PPW) conference, held at the Sofitel, Melbourne on 23 July 2007, a joint conference hosted by Engineers Australia and Association for Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia. The day was a great success, with a total attendance of 307 women from around Australia. With presentations from some prominent women of professional engineering roots, Julie Hammer, Meredith Rogers and Sue Murphy, the day was insightful. A discussion panel raised some contentious issues, such as quota systems (not preferred by many women, citing the importance of promotions on merit). An important aspect not to be forgotten is the networking opportunities which are an inherent in, and valuable aspect of such professional events. And the events aren’t necessarily all about formal presentations and discussions either – indeed social events such as the Gen2X events being held in divisions also facilitate the development of our personal networks, both in the professional and social dimensions.
During the events, many of us will have exchanged contact details and business cards, and even a meaningful conversation or two is thrown into the social exchange. But often, I must admit that I myself have been guilty of noting that I ought to get in touch with my newfound peers, and then getting ‘too busy’. Then, a month or so down the track, feel a little too embarrassed about sending an email with ‘Hi there, you might remember me, we met at the July conference …’.
On the occasions however that we do find the time to meet with a newfound colleague for coffee, we begin to genuinely appreciate the value of sharing our stories, experiences, recent challenges and goals. Recently, I had the opportunity to continue a conversation with one of the women I met at the PPW, and we were able to share some valuable insights without the time pressures of the day.
So I would like to put this challenge to you – at the next networking event, or perhaps following up from a recent event, send an email reintroducing yourself, and make the time to develop a new network of peers.
Peyi Pey Guo
SA Division, National Committee representative
We, the Women in Engineering National Committee of Engineers Australia, believe this campaign is incredibly important and timely. With women engineers currently representing less than 10% of engineering in Australia (one of the lowest participation rates of women across all professions). This campaign will highlight the fact engineering can change your life and the lives of others.
The fundamental objective of the campaign is to increase awareness amongst the profession and wider community of the role and contribution women make to engineering. It will tell young girls and women about the different engineering disciplines and the personal and professional opportunities it offers. We want engineering to be a sought after profession that offers a sustainable and fulfilling career for women.
Our committee, made up of a group of dedicated women who love their work and recognise the unique aspects women bring to the workplace, has been working on developing worthwhile events for the year. Some of the activities currently planned include networking opportunities, talks and seminars that address retention and diversity, as well as profiles of leading women members.
So while planning has started, we really want to know what you want from the year. What are the issues you face? What do workplaces and your profession need to do to retain women? If you have an opinion on how things could be improved for women in engineering, now is the time to speak up and be heard. We encourage you to provide comment.