Motivating Female Students in
Engineering Classrooms through
Social Relevance of Engineering
Solutions
Myongsook S. Oh
Department of Chemical Engineering, Hongik University
and
WISET Seoul Regional Center
The Gender Summit 6–Asia Pacific 2015
The Plaza Hotel, Seoul, Korea
August 26-28, 2015
South Korea
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Population: 51,414,000 in 2015
Area: 99,393 km2
GDP: 15th in the world in 2014
Percent of college enrollments:
68.2% in 2014
Advancement rate from high school to
tertiary education: 70.9% in 2014
Ratio of Women in universities (graduate
basis): 49.1% in 2014
Technical manpower in Industry: 87.2%
Male, Manpower needs: 2.4% (2013.12)
Employment Ratio of graduating women
engineers: 60.9%. Men: 64.5%. In 2010;
51.9% vs 56.7% in 2014
Ref: 2014 Statistics on Korean Education,
2014 Industrial Technical Manpower Supply and Demand Survey
Female Ratio by Field of Study
 Since 1980, Women’s enrollment in college rapidly increased
 Female ratio in four-year universities in 2014 (graduate basis): 49.1%
 Almost all fields, except Engineering, there are more women than men
Ref.: Education Statistics Service (http://cesi.kedi.re.kr/), Aug. 2015
Female Students and Faculty Ratio
in Engineering
 Female Student ratio: maintaining 18 ~20% after 2000
 Female faculty ratio in 2012: 4.1%
비율
- 졸업생
Female여학생
Student
Ratio
based기준
on Graduates
25%
Female
Faculty
여교수
비율Ratio
25%
19.8% 19.4%
20%
17.8%
17.4% 16.9% 17.2%
18.1%
19.1% 19.4%
15%
20%
15%
10%
10%
6.7%
7.6%
5%
5%
2.3%
0%
2.9%
3.2%
3.4%
3.6%
3.8%
4.1%
0%
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2012
Ref.: Report on Women in Science and Technology, Jan. 2011 by Korea Advanced Institute of Women in Science,
Engineering, and Technology, (2) http://cesi.kedi.re.kr/, Sept. 2013
What causes a low participation of
women in engineering?
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Bias on women/ Bias on Engineering
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Undervaluation of women’s technical capabilities
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Gender Schema
Evaluate women based on men’s value system
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Engineering is not suitable for women
Engineering is too physically-demanding for women
Women are not good at math and science
Men’s traits become the standards and are valued more than
women’s
Lack of understanding on gender differences
Women are not considered as competitive in job market
Difficulties in work-family balance
Women are twice as likely as men to leave engineering
(and science) careers and also have much higher exit
rates than women in other professions
Academic Aspiration and Self Efficacy
of Engineering Students
Academic Aspiration
• Kim et al, 2007
Self Efficacy
Gendered Innovations in Engineering Education
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Improving chilly climate
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Capacity building programs
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Mentoring; Tutoring; or Leadership building
Gender Inclusive Classroom
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Develop the contents/projects that can motivate women
Use the examples that women can easily relate to
Make frequent reference to women’s achievements in science and
engineering
Avoids gender bias in the contents and the presentation of the
curriculum
Class environment which shows high expectation of women
Use teaching pedagogies to raise self-efficacy, confidence,
academic achievements, and occupational aspiration of women
 Active Learning by Felder and Brent
(https://vimeo.com/61505404)
How to better motivate female students?
- Work-Value Frame
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Intrinsic values refer to the importance placed
on autonomy and interest
Social values - working with people and
making contributions to society (women)
Extrinsic values - making money and having
job security (men)
Prestige values - having a prestigious and
respected occupation
Emphasize Social Relevance of Engineering Solutions
Duffy, R. and W. Sedlacek, (2007), Journal of Career Development, 34(2) 149-163
Ros, M., S. Schwartz, and S. Surkiss (1999), “,” Applied psychology, 48(1), 49-71
Social Relevance and Achievement by a
Female Engineer (Chemical Engineering)
Penicillin
- Discovered by Scottish scientist Sir
Alexander Fleming in 1928
- Use as a medicine and bulk production are
credited to H. Florey, E.B. Chain and N.
Heatley
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Mass Production: Margaret Hutchinson
Rousseau, Chemical Engineer
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During World War II, penicillin made a
major difference in the number of deaths
and amputations caused by infected
wounds among Allied forces
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Chemical structure was determined by
Dorothy C. Hodgkin, making total synthesis
possible
- First patent on the ammonia synthesis
by Fritz Haber in 1908; Nobel Prize in
1918
- First industrial plant by Carl Bosch:
Haber-Bosch Process of BASF; Nobel
Prize in 1931
- First high pressure continuous
chemical process as well as
commercial catalytic reaction
- Raw material for fertilizer urea: Billions
of people have been fed over the past
100 years
- A raw material for explosive: Millions
of people have died in armed conflicts
Service Learning:
Water! - Engineering for the other 90%
Bamboo Treadle Pump
PLAY PUMP:
Merry-Go-Round Water Pump
Q-Drum
by
Hans and Pieter Hendrikse
A Project which can motivate female students
- Butterfly Bridge Design by B. Lee (2008), Civil Engineering
 A Pedestrian bridge friendly to nature and
people
 A construction structure which is harmonious
with nature and has a beauty of Korean curve
 Top view: Butterfly with open wings. A
small butterfly made of tempered glass
is added in the center
 Side view: When reflected in water, a
butterfly with open wings
 Considered structural stability, functionality,
economics and beauty, then added
Convenience and originality
 Arch shaped Curve made of stainless
tubing; Cable stayed bridge
 Minimize environmental damage: No
center supports
 Thin concrete with fiberglass reinforced
with plastics. Wood floor to create
softness of butterfly
Butterfly Bridge Design(2)
A Project which can motivate female students
- Digital Making Camp
 Offered by WISET Seoul Regional Center
 Consisted of training on digital making and
physical computing and a team competition
 3D Printing and Digital fabrication
 Arduino and sensors
 Three week program
 Coordinated with a public digital production
facility (a Fab Lab)
 Provide exposure to a new trend of fabrication
 Provide opportunities to ease the fear of
machines and to develop the confidence to
express/fabricate their ideas
“I gained a confidence that I could make anything
from basic training and knowledge (from this camp)”
 The level of satisfaction: 4.4/5.0
Lesson plan for Gender Inclusive Classroom
Learning Objectives
Set hook
Standards/Expectations (Align with accreditation outcomes)
Gender inclusive contents/activities
Closure
Independent Practice (Follow-up Activities)
Review/reflection
Conclusions
 To recruit more women to engineering and improve the retention of
women we need to improve the psychological correlates such
satisfaction and attachment to the major and self-efficacy.
 We need to examine how the engineering is taught in the
classroom and how we can better motivate female students.
 The work-value frame points that women tend to place a greater
emphasis on working with people and contributing to society
 Explore what engineering solutions can do for the well-being of
people and society.
 Develop projects that can motivate female students
 Incorporate them into lesson plans
 A wide range of examples and projects should be developed and
shared
 These examples are not only for females but also benefit male
students.