What is it about science, technology and engineering professions that have made them into such a male dominated area? Part of it lies in our background, as most women aged thirty and upwards were encouraged into humanity related subjects such as arts, languages, geography and history. Even women who engineered (forgive the pun!) to join male-dominated higher education courses and professions felt marginalised. Many men felt that their exclusive world was being threatened and they often gave new women students or employees an unwelcome or even hostile reception. Many women in the last twenty years or so, though, have started to break the mould and enter traditionally male jobs. While there are still few women Nobel Prize winners or famous female scientists compared to men, slowly the pattern is changing as women enter fields previously unthought of.
The old pattern of male domination in these areas cannot be changed overnight though and it will take many years of adjustment before there are as many women in the science and engineering fields as men. However, the important thing is that things have started to change and more women are entering these professions than ever, as well as proving that they can perform equally well if not better than men. The more attention these successful role models receive, the more new converts there will be.
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