Erika Kangas and Iva Shallvari are the engineers of their own career fates, meaning there was no hemming and hawing about how they would apply their math and science skills in university.
Since childhood, the Ontario residents have had their sights set on careers in engineering — goals that run contrary to the norm, as statistics show declining numbers of female students in Canadian undergraduate university programs.
They don't know each other, but Ms. Kangas, an aerospace engineering student at Ryerson University in Toronto, and Ms. Shallvari, studying mechanical engineering at the University of Windsor, have a lot in common.
The twentysomething students were self-motivated when it came to choosing engineering, and are in their fourth and final years of their undergrad programs. And both are on track to apply their education in transportation areas when they enter the male-dominated engineering world.
Ryerson University engineering student Erika Kangas will work at Bombardier Aerospace this summer. (Ashley Hutcheson for The Globe and Mail)
They also have similar ideas about why more women aren't attracted to engineering.
Originally from Sudbury, and with a number of her family members in the aerospace field, Ms. Kangas will be working for Bombardier Aerospace this summer before returning to Ryerson in September for the two-year master's of science program.
"I have always had an interest in aircraft and the innovation that is involved in their design. Growing up, I travelled extensively and aircraft made an early impression upon me," says the 23-year-old.
"Engineering is a highly technical field of study and practice, and unfortunately it remains to be a male-dominated field, and many women may find this intimidating," Ms. Kangas adds.
Ms. Shallvari, 22, was born in Albania and moved with her family to Windsor, Ont., six years ago. She applied to the University of Windsor's engineering program with no prodding.
"So far, I have found the course challenging yet rewarding," she says. "I have had the opportunity to co-op at the Chrysler R&D centre, as well as work on designing and building a prototype race car to compete against other schools on an international level."
After completing her fourth year in the automotive option of her four-year program, Ms. Shallvari plans to pursue a master's degree in the area of vehicle dynamics and active chassis control, and later work in the field.
As for why many other young women don't share her engineering drive, Ms. Shallvari says, "I believe there is a societal discouragement toward women succeeding in the field of science and engineering."
While Ms. Kangas and Ms. Shallvari say they've been welcomed at their universities, engineering schools are struggling to boost enrolment levels of women, despite stepped-up recruiting efforts, numerous special scholarships and bursaries, and various outreach programs and special events involving female engineers and grad students.
According to the Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology (CCWESTT), the proportion of women enrolled in undergrad engineering programs has been declining steadily since 2002, from a peak of 20.7 per cent in 2001 to 17.5 per cent in 2005, after nearly a decade of slowly increasing numbers.
The coalition also says "the absolute numbers" of female engineering students have dropped by 7 per cent over the five years, while those of their male peers have increased by 14.6 per cent. In 2005, 9,588 women were enrolled across Canada, and 45,266 men.
There are also low numbers of female engineering grads in the work force, and who remain in the profession. For instance, the 2001 census found that women made up a little more than 11 per cent of the Canadian engineering work force. And a survey of 6,000 U.S. engineering grads published last year by the Chicago-based Society of Women Engineers found that one in four women leaves engineering after age 30, compared with only one in 10 men.
But ask experts like CCWESTT president Judy Myers and Frankie Stewart, an engineering professor at Ryerson, what lies behind the drop in female enrolment, and they're at a loss for concrete answers.
One possibility is that engineering is competing with sexier professions, such as medicine and technology careers, that are promoting the wealth of available jobs, says Dr. Myers, professor emerita in agroecology and zoology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
As for the culture of sexism long associated with engineering schools, Dr. Myers says it's nothing like it was in the 1980s and early '90s when she was an associate dean of science at UBC who "fought against that engineering image."
Prof. Stewart, a former nuclear engineer with Ontario Hydro who has taught in Ryerson's mechanical and industrial engineering department for more than two decades, notes that "engineering comes with a perceived level of difficulty.
"Sometimes engineering is called 'the silent profession,'" adds Prof. Stewart. "We as a profession don't do a great job of selling ourselves and making people aware of all the things we do.
"Mechanical engineering, for instance, isn't just about cars. You can also work in ventilation, air conditioning, designing solar panels … you could be redesigning things so they are more efficient and are better for the environment," she says.
Prof. Stewart has been involved in several outreach efforts to draw young women into the field. She is chair of the Greater Toronto Area's GoEngGirl event, which is promoted by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.
Every fall, Ryerson is among more than a dozen engineering schools hosting a GoEngGirl day, where girls in Grades 7 to 10 and their parents can explore the engineering field. They hear from panels of female professionals, and take part in hands-on activities; last fall, for example, some of the more than 100 GTA students created a wind turbine, while others made a robotic pneumatic arm.
Prof. Stewart says that despite the awareness campaigns, the fact that engineering is multifaceted is still relatively unknown. So, starting this fall, Ryerson will allow first-year students who don't want to specialize right away to enroll in an "undeclared" category, so they can explore the numerous engineering disciplines the university offers before deciding on a specialty.
At Ryerson, last fall there were 2,147 male students and 400 female students in all undergrad engineering programs.
Prof. Stewart stresses that while overall engineering numbers for female undergrads are dropping, some programs — such as environmental, biological and other forms of engineering with more "social conscience or humanistic elements" — boast larger percentages of female students.
At Ontario's University of Guelph, for example, 29 per cent of the 488 engineering students for all years are women. However, 45.8 per cent of biological engineering students and 39.8 per cent of environmental engineering students are women, while just 4.8 per cent of systems and computing engineering students are female.
Recruiting efforts at the University of Guelph tend to focus especially on boosting areas of the profession that women tend to stay away from, says Jenny Fender, project manager for the engineering school's Chair for Women in Science and Engineering.
Through the chair, funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the school runs a range of programs encouraging young women to consider studying science and engineering, and helping them recognize the diverse career options.
Efforts also focus on supporting postsecondary students through their programs, their transitions into careers and issues they may confront in the largely male engineering climate, adds Ms. Fender.
Meanwhile, Ms. Kangas is determined to realize her career dreams with eyes wide open. She knows she faces a "significant amount of pressure" and a heavy workload.
"Generally speaking, I am not concerned that engineering is a male-dominated field," she says. "However, I could see how it may present challenges in advancing one's career on a fair and equitable basis."
Special to The Globe and Mail
By the numbers
17.5%: Proportion of women enrolled in Canadian undergrad engineering programs in 2005, down from 20.7 per cent in 2001.
9,588: Number of women enrolled in engineering programs across Canada, compared with 45,266 men, in 2005.
25%: Proportion of U.S. female engineers who leave the field after age 30.
Sources: Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology; Society of Women Engineers
34
