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The Monash program aims to increase and enhance the participation of women in engineering, say Women in Engineering officer Ms Ruth Schneider and dean Professor Mike Brisk. |
Low numbers of women electing to study engineering and a high dropout rate among women engineers have brought about a push for change in engineering culture by the profession at an international level in recent years.
And in Australia, with women comprising less than 5 per cent of practising professional engineers and less than 15 per cent of tertiary engineering students in 1998, the call to action has been taken up by the profession's core representative body, the Institution of Engineers, Australia.
The Victorian division of the organisation has convened a taskforce charged with tackling the problem, enlisting the services of high-profile members such as Democrats deputy leader Ms Natasha Stott Despoja and Monash University chancellor and former BHP chairman Mr Jerry Ellis.
The taskforce, which will initially run for two years, will look at ways of increasing and enhancing the participation of women in engineering into the 21st century, by form-ulating strategies in areas such as work practices, employment conditions, education and marketing the profession.
And Monash's 'Enhancing Equity in the Engineering Environment' program, a joint initiative undertaken by the university's Faculty of Engineering and the Equal Opportunity Unit, is taking up the challenge of cultural change at tertiary level.
The program, a first for the university, is designed to overcome cultural barriers and eliminate inadvertent disadvantages faced by minority groups in the faculty, through education and systemic and cultural change.
It arose from concerns held by Monash's dean of Engineering, Professor Mike Brisk, that the existing culture was not encouraging enrolments or the retention of female students.
"Unfortunately, the engineering environment is still a very male-dominated one, and it's the sort of culture that can alienate women," he said.
"This program aims to help develop a commitment to change among members of the faculty."
The staff program comprises a comprehensive set of activities including discussion groups where staff discuss concepts such as equity and disadvantage, and information sessions on equal opportunity issues and legislation.
Equal Opportunity manager Dr Margaret James said the discussion groups aimed to lead participants to support and 'own' effective cultural change by encouraging them to uncover their own sense of 'victim empathy'.
"In discussion groups, participants are asked to recall an occasion when they were discriminated against on the grounds of sex, race, age, marital status or any other factor.
"What normally follows is that through personal recognition of the impact of disadvantage, participants are more likely to recognise discrimination and develop the desire to eliminate it."
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Equal Opportunity manager Dr Margaret James says the equity program establishes an important precedent for the university. |
Professor Brisk said there were also plans to formulate a code of practice for the faculty, based on ideas commonly expressed in the discussion groups on how to bring about equity in the engineering environment.
Annual follow-up sessions for staff would revisit equity issues and assess the impact of the program, he said.
Student training has involved workshops combining interactive learning, case studies and video presentations, and presentations on equity issues will become a regular feature at all year levels.
The initiative has been officially recognised by the Institution of Engineers, Australia, winning a high commendation in the education sector of the Engineering 2000 Awards for the Advancement of Women in Engineering.
"The program establishes an important precedent for Monash, and the experience will be drawn on in developing further programs for the university," Dr James said.
