Margaret Peggy E. Layne in Women in Engineering
Margaret Peggy E. Layne in Women in Engineering: Pioneers and Trailblazers narrate the history of engineer women in the United States of America. The book identifies several factors that hinder women in the field of engineering that is majorly male-dominated. The author articulates her ideas through a collection of a wide range of materials, such as reports, presentations, articles, and academic papers. An analysis is done on different women that the author refers to as having pioneered the field of engineering. They include Kate Gleason, Katherine Stinson, Emily Roebling, and Edith Clarke. These women who have been placed into the proper historical context have made remarkable contributions in protecting the environment, enhancing industrial efficiency and management of construction. This essay will discuss the central argument of the book that is based on the author’s perspective on particular trends women career in the field of engineering and various challenges that have historically curtailed the development of women in the career.
In the book, Margaret Ingels, in the Western Society of Engineering in 1952, gave a talk titled “Petticoats and Slide Rules.” In the talk, she links different women with their great works of engineering. More specifically, she introduces Edith Julia Griswold, who studied both law and Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. Her affirmation as an engineer, however, happened later in 1925 despite that she had opened an office earlier in 1886. According to the statistics, up to in 1950, there were less than 1% of women in engineering careers. This percentage increased tremendously in the year 2010/2011 when 18.4% enrolled in bachelor’s, 22.6 in masters, and 21.8% in the doctorate. However, the huge percentage of the number of women who have pursued engineering courses does not reflect the number of women in the workforce.
The book argues that in 19th-century engineering made a revolution from being trade to a formal profession where qualification is based on the acquisition of academic papers. The period was also marked by the formation of engineering societies such as the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1852. Joining the society was based on having a degree from an institution that is accredited. This disadvantaged women, as many institutions did not admit women in engineering courses. At the end of the century, however, some institutions started admitting women into their institutions, but it was not easy for women to hold leadership positions. In 1927, Elsie Eaves became the first woman to gain the necessary qualifications to join the American Society of Civil Engineers. By 1965, Lillian Gilbreth, who partnered with her husband in a scientific management project, was elected as an official in the National Academy of Engineering in 1965.
The activity of women in the engineering career was also positively affected by both World War 1 and World War 2. During the two wars, men were enrolled in the armed forces causing employers in various industries to seek the labor of women engineers. The war period hence saw shipbuilding, refrigeration, and aeronautics industries been dominated by women. In contrary to what many expected, the women demonstrated top-notch engineering skills. However, after the war, women were faced with the pressure to return home to take care of their husbands. Many women, however, decided to remain in the industries and continue perfecting their newly-acquired skills. After the end of the first World War, the number of women in engineering was so huge that they set up Women’s Engineering Society in England and similar organizations in Korea and the United States of America at the end of World War 2. Margaret acknowledges that one of the biggest activity involving women during the war was the ballistics computation. This activity is what led to the development of the first-ever computer, ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer). However, the contribution of women is overlooked in this major development.
The success of women in engineering has been continually curtailed by marriage. On joining the institution of marriage, many women quit their career to fully concentrate on taking care of their families. However, with supportive husbands, women in engineering can make great progress in the field. A good example of a woman who excelled in engineering due to her husband’s support is Ellen Swallow Richards, a water engineer and a founder of environmental and ecology engineering. Women have also continually supported their men in engineering hence contributing intellectually in the field.
In conclusion, over time, there have been major transitions in women’s careers as engineers. In the early 19th century, the engineering career was characterized by discrimination. Women and science gained recognition during World War 1 and the Second World War moving forward. However, throughout the period, women have faced many challenges in their careers, such as; creating a balance between work and family, lack of support networks, lack of enrollment in training institutions, and lack of mentors. Thus, up to now, the field of engineering has been male-dominated. All in all, many women have gone against all the odds and made remarkable contributions in the field of engineering.
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