I just watched a video about women taking on non traditional roles, such as in mining and engineering:
I think that videos like this one are really useful in letting young girls know what opportunities are out there. When I was in grade 11 at high school I went on the Australian Student Mineral Venture (ASMV). It's basically a trip for students in grades 10, 11 and 12 where you learn more about careers and opportunities in the minerals industry. I went on the Northern Region trip which was based in Townsville and we visited refineries, smelters and mines in the region. It was a real eye-opener for me because before the trip my idea of a mine was based on Tonka Trucks and the movie Zoolander:
It was also a really fun holiday because I met lots of other high school students from all over Queensland as well as 'mentors' who were mostly mining engineering students. I would highly recommend going on an ASMV trip if you have the opportunity.
For me, the idea of being a girl in a predominantly male field has never really bothered me. Maybe it's that by having 2 brothers I'm used to hanging out with guys, or maybe it's just that I'm not very observant, but I often don't notice that I'm surrounded by boys in my lectures. Not long ago one of my friends pointed out to me that I was the only girl in my tutorial of 30 people - I hadn't even realised. But that's not to say that I wouldn't love to be in an engineering lecture filled entirely with girls!
I don't think that I've had any bad experiences being a female in engineering. In fact if anything, in my experience I think that instead of being discriminated against, girls are almost given an advantage in engineering. I'm all for encouraging more girls to do engineering but I am opposed to having awards for the best female engineer. I don't see why there can't be an award for the best engineer and if a female happens to be the best candidate then she should get the award. Likewise I hate it if I am offered a job because I'm a girl. At a careers fair I was talking to a representative from a company who said that they would love to take me on as a vac work student because I'm a girl and implied that they wanted to boost their female staff numbers. I politely declined her offer. This annoyed me because although I know it's meant to help out females, I would rather get a job based on my merits and because I am the best person for the job.
I think that one of the best ways to encourage more girls into engineering and other non-traditional roles is to make the workplaces more female friendly. Although I've never felt discriminated against I'm sure there are women who have been. Workplaces need to have more flexible work hours and be willing to allow women to take leave when necessary. There are also some great support networks outside of employers. I've found that organisations such as Women in Mining and Resources Queensland (WIMARQ) provide fantastic networking events and talks. There are also some fantastic female role models out there and by encouraging more girls into engineering, the number of role models is only going to increase.
At the moment at UQ the proportion of females in engineering sits at around 20%. This is an improvement on past years and it's definitely heading in the right direction, but I think there's still a way to go.
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