Engineering

Relation to Girls' Education

Engineering is the most male-dominated field in STEM with only 13% of women making up the workplace. Furthermore, women leave the profession more than their male counterparts. It’s estimated that nearly 40% of women who earn engineering degrees either leave the industry or never joined it. Research has shown one reason for this women tend to display greater levels of self-doubt as they move further along in this male-dominated industry. 

Despite the fact that women in STEM careers are earning more than their non-STEM counterparts, the gender earnings gap persists within STEM occupations.

In a field that focuses on solving problems the world faces, women's voices, perspectives, and education are needed in engineering. Mercy is committed to offering young women an opportunity to immerse themselves in the Engineering world so they can find their voices as they lay a foundation of confidence in a male-dominated industry.

Relevance to Today’s World

Engineering continues to be a fast developing field in which women remain underrepresented. As engineers sit at tables solving some of the world’s greatest problems, the female voice and perspective is needed as problems unique to women are often overlooked when there is no female voice at the table. When one sex dominates an industry, there is great risk of groupthink and lack of innovation. As a result, research is heavily biased towards men and errors happen due to the lack of representation in early research and data analysis. Women bring new perspectives and experiences to the engineering field which in turn can lead to performance, innovation, and revenue improvement.