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Science
and engineering professions require special talents and
mental capabilities. Engineers need to have mathematical
minds and be excellent in mathematics, physics, and chemistry
in high school. Scientists need to have solid preparation
in biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. These
careers require extra effort and sacrifice, persistence
and perseverance, strong personality and courage to face
the challenges.
To
build a successful career in engineering, follow this
advice:
- Gain
management and communication skills.
- Attend
training programs.
- Update
your technical knowledge through life-long education.
- Search
for women engineer role models to guide, inspire, and
help you.
- Form
a society for women engineers to discuss and solve the
problems facing women engineers and support them in
their professions.
To
increase the number of women engineers take into consideration
the following points. There is a need to:
- Convince
parents, schoolgirls, and the whole society through
all types of mass media and information, education,
and communication programs that women can successfully
pursue the engineering profession.
- Eliminate
stereotyping that concentrates on the traditional roles
of females and encourage women through national societies
for women and NGO's to break the mold and to share in
the development of the country.
- Improve
the linkage between educational policies and labor market
needs to decrease the unemployment rate by informing
high school students that engineers are the most required
in the country and that the unemployment rate for engineers
is the lowest in Egypt.
- Seek
the support of the private sector for women engineers
by providing more jobs and tolerate their need for motherhood
breaks.
- Ask
the government for women empowerment policies like affirmative
action and positive discrimination to assist women engineers
in reaching the top administrative positions.
Acknowledgements
Special
thanks to Dr.
Azza Elleboudy, Professor and former Chair of Civil
Engineering, College of Engineering, Zagazig University,
Banha Branch, Egypt, for acting as the primary source of
information for this article. |
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