It is necessary to reflect on the existing concern about why women prefer careers in Health, Social Sciences or Law to STEM careers, an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. There are several questions that we must ask ourselves to understand the reasons why women prefer these careers to STEM careers, among them are the cultural issues; on the other hand, there are the stereotypes established from birth, the role played by the family environment in the support they can find, and the role played by educational centres. It is essential that schools support girls to study those disciplines.
Another issue is the lack of female references and the visibility given to women scientists, as well as their recognition, including the low possibility of reconciling work and personal life in the industrial environment. Therefore, it is essential to motivate adolescents by promoting STEM vocations and talk about women scientists, mathematicians, engineers, or architects.
And in this way, to eventually achieve a bigger presence of women in the engineering world, the industry must bet on gender diversity in all their projects, supporting a multitude of female leadership initiatives and offering the same access and internal promotion opportunities to all company employees, without gender being a determining factor at all.
Finally, I believe that any woman who decides to join a type of role that has historically belonged to the male gender serves as an inspiration to the rest.
The women engineers featured below are just two examples of engineering talent. The story of amazing women of today, who have made decisive contributions and inventions, who lead interesting positions and that claim the role of women in science.
Amy Shira
Amy Shira, is a space flight historian, YouTuber, speaker and author, who can be considered a true evangelist in space academic work. She is a historian of science, but her career and her interest have led her to be one of the most recognized influencers in space flight. Her work can be seen daily on her Vintage Space YouTube channel but she also writes for Discovery News, Scientific American, Ars Technica and Al Jazeera English among other media, as well as having her own bibliography.
Kamilah Taylor
Kamilah Taylor is a Senior Software Engineer at LinkedIn, where she has been involved in many major initiatives, including the rewrite of the main app, messaging, infrastructure, and the LinkedIn Learning iOS app. But she's probably best known for her work advocating for women and people of colour in the tech industry. She is the author of "Women in Tech: Take Your Career to the Next Level With Practical Tips and Inspirational Stories," she volunteers her time for a number of organizations like BlackGirlsCode, is a speaker, and hosted the Tech Beach Retreat in Jamaica.