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Category: Engineering
Tags: Male dominance in the engineering field, male dominance, socio-cultural phenomenon, engineering, engineer
 -21.78% -21.78%

  Support:
 -21.78%
Points:
Male dominance in the engineering field is not something intrinsic to the profession itself, on the contrary, it is a socio-cultural phenomenon  
  • but: there are always more boys than girls studying sciences and mathematics in secondary schools and universities (Craker (2006) ) +51.61%

    • because: males are better at subjects like physics and mathematics, which are crucial to success in the engineering field, than females  +51.61%

      • because: men have better attitudes toward science than women, and that men are more apt to continue studying science (Weinburgh (1998) ) +51.61%

        • but: it is nothing natural nor inevitable to the study of sciences and engineering  

          • because: attitudes toward science change with exposure to science, which may be related to the quality of that exposure (Gogolin (1992) ) 

      • but: comparing to men, women are generally discouraged from pursuing engineering profession as a career (Phipps (2002) ) 

        • because: women graduate students are often dissuaded from pursuing certain areas of science, such as mathematical, theoretical investigations or experimental works (Wilson (1992) ) 

          • because: engineering is generally regarded as a masculine activity, a form of employment that strips women of their feminine qualities (Phipps (2002) ) 

            • because: general public always mis-conceive engineering as activity involving manual labor, which indeed is more about using one's intelligent (Phipps (2002) ) 

        • because: the pre-dominance of the old boy's network within the industry poses a great disadvantage to women in pursuing a career in engineering  

          • because: there is often lack of female role model in institutes of engineering and technology, as more female professors will lead to more female students  

  • because: the perception of engineering as "male-identified" contributes to the female minority in the field (Phipps (2002) ) 

    • because: the perception of male-dominance in the engineering field further re-enforces itself - a vicious circle  

      • because: female finds it deeply unattractive to devote to a field which is dominated by male  

  • but: men have natural advantage over women favoring them in pursuing a successful career in engineering  

    • because: engineering makes extraordinary demands on availability in time & location, raises conflicts with the family responsibilities that is borne by women (Matyas (1992) ) 

      • because: e.g. the period when successful engineering careers are usually forged corresponds to the period of childbearing (Matyas (1992) ) 

        • but: women's role as housewives in a family is not a necessary conclusion of male/female biological differences, but a cultural contingency  

  • but: male is generally more interested in engineering related subjects such as computer, science and technology by nature  -8.06%

    • but: boys are often better acquainted with computers than girls (technolog.it.umn.edu) +8.06%

      • because: many children familiarize themselves with computers, regarding themes such as combat, war, and male oriented sports, which are more appealing to boys (technolog.it.umn.edu) 


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