Celebrating women in engineering
IN 2017, Naadiya Moosajee, co-founder of WomEng, a South African social enterprise now operating in 13 countries, noted that only 11% of all engineers globally are female. To some degree this has led to researchers ascribing the low number of female engineers in the sector to the lack of recognition of females.
In an article titled “An engineer’s view: my experience as a female engineering student”, Marietjie M Jansen van Rensburg notes that discrimination against women engineers is more subtle now with less outright belief that men are better than woman.
In her article she said: “Today, the female engineering student doesn’t experience sexism in obvious, outright ways, but rather through subtle acts and role divisions. For example, in a group project where taking down minutes is mandatory, you will often see female students being given the role, sometimes at the expense of doing more technical work.”
The role of women in the engineering sector is no different to that of men. Both sexes contribute to the economy of the country in the same way through developing infrastructure that provides basic services such as energy; water and food security; transport and infrastructure; communication; and access to education and healthcare. Furthermore, both sexes possess the same capabilities that will bring change to the country.
It seems rather pedantic for one in 2018 – 24 years after the democratic dispensation and 62 years since the women of 1956 marched to the Union Buildings – to be raising issues of better parity between the sexes in any field, let alone those that are male-dominated.
However, it also makes one seem ignorant when the issues of gender equality, particularly in the engineering sector, are not raised or even discussed so as to ensure that even though the sector is male-dominated, each indi- vidual operating within it receives equal recognition.
In pursuit of transforming the sector and changing the landscape to ensure that more women are part of this sector, the Engineering Coun- cil of South Africa (ECSA) established the Engenius programme to highlight the importance of the engineering field among primary and high school learners, especially from Grade 10 onwards.
The programme strives to promote the engineering profession nationally to more than 20000 primary and high school learners annually, through its core message: “Engineering Makes It Happen”.
In the previous financial year the programme reached more than 30 000 learners through exhibitions and school visits, especially those from far-flung areas seeking to unearth science, technology, engineering and mathematics talent among women.
Furthermore, over the years, the number of registered candidate females has increased – in 2013 there were 1 938, in 2014 there were 2 492 and by end of the 2017/18 financial year, 5 879 female candidates were registered with ECSA, reflecting a 203% increase over the five-year period.
Their male counterparts in the 2013/14 financial year recorded 7 313 registered candidate engineers and by 2017/18 the number increased to 16 890, reflecting a 131% increase.
Although the number of male candidate engineers has increased over the years, greater strides with the number of female candidates have been made.
In recognition of these great strides towards the transformation of the engineering sector it is time for women to be equally recognised in this field; to be celebrated for their achievements when they hold leadership positions; and to be given accolades when they take part in and win international design competitions, not because they’re women but because they’re engineers.
As South Africa marks Women’s Month, let us all celebrate the engineering sector and the women who work tirelessly to contribute to it. Sipho Madonsela CEO: Engineering Council of South Africa