4 AUGUST2022Editor NoteGroundwork must be Laid Early to bring Gender Parity in the Field of Engineering 1944 was a watershed year in the history of Indian women engineers. It was the year India got its very first woman engineer in A. Lalitha, who received her Honors degree in Electrical Engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG), University of Madras. Lalitha's foray into the field of engineering was fuelled by her need to provide for her daughter and a supportive family. However, she had to face several biases prevalent in the society, educational institutes and in workplaces too. More than 75 years have passed since India got its first female engineer yet ironically the struggles that she faced back in the day are still relevant in today's world, albeit in a much milder form. Gender bias and gender based stereotypes are still holding our women back from participating equally in the field of engineering.Unfortunately STEM is considered a man's field. Although women's participation in the Indian IT industry has been on the rise over the past decade, yet we are far from reaching parity in the industry. According to a 2020 NASSCOM report, women constitute close to 35 percent of India's technology industry. Taking a step back, let's look at the women enrolling in engineering degrees. According to a recent report by AISHE, the enrolment of women in B.Sc and B.Com was at par with men, yet engineering colleges did not fare so well. For every 100 men enrolled in B.Tech degrees, there were just 42 women. However, it's surprising to note that this is the highest percentage across the globe. Although a considerable number of women do graduate as engineers yet they are absent from the workforce. Various social structures come into plays that affect the representation of women in STEM and technology workforce. First there are stereotypes about the capability of women when it comes to technology which are aided and abetted by other factors such as infrastructure policies and low-powered incentives.The bias must be addressed early on in the educational journey. According to a research by Cornell University, gender differences in high school heavily impacts students' long term occupational plans. In order to ensure a gender balanced tech workforce, the groundwork must begin early on in school. We mustn't forget that technology is said to be an equalizing force. A computer program being run does not take into account the gender of the person who has written the code. Here only skill matters and we must work hard to ensure that every girl receives the opportunity to develop the requisite skills. Do let us know your thoughts. Rachita SharmaManaging Editor
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