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Hannelie Nel 9 November 2010

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FACING WOMEN IN ENGINEERING TODAY? Women in Engineering Conference 9 – 10 November 2010 MULDERSDRIFT. Hannelie Nel 9 November 2010. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES.

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Hannelie Nel 9 November 2010

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  1. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FACING WOMEN IN ENGINEERING TODAY?Women in Engineering Conference 9 – 10 November 2010MULDERSDRIFT Hannelie Nel 9 November 2010

  2. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES • Global: Goal Three of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals is the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women across the globe by 2015. The attraction, education and retention of women in science, engineering and technology are paramount to the socio-economic development of all countries. [http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals], accessed 24 January 2010]. • China: The Economist of 12 July 2010 state that the rise of the Chinese economy is directly related to the education and empowerment of Chinese women over the past twenty years [The Economist, 12 July 2010].

  3. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES • United Kingdom: “The loss to the UK economy of women scientists, engineers and technologists who are unemployed, inactive or working below their level of qualification is estimated to be £ 2 billion. • The UK must continue to invest in women in science, engineering and technology, to overcome barriers, build on achievements and accelerate results”. [http://www.ukrc4setwomen.org/html/resources/ukrc-publications; accessed 16 July 2010]

  4. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES • United States of America: “At the end of her campaign to become America’s first female president in 2008, Hillary Clinton remarked that her 18 million votes in the Democratic Party’s primaries represented 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling. Women make up almost half of American workers. They earn almost 60% of university degrees in America and Europe. • Women continue to lag seriously behind men in a handful of subjects, such as engineering and computer sciences, where they earned about one-fifth of degrees in 2006.” [Female Power, The Economist, 30 December 2009]

  5. SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE • South Africa: The Centre for Research on Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) in South Africa found that women represent fifty two percent of the African population, estimated at a total of 800 million. • In South Africa, the number of female student doctoral enrolments and graduates are the lowest in the Natural Sciences and Engineering sectors. Women are under-represented in SET industry, and in academia women represent less than 30% of the workforce.

  6. SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE • South Africa – Engineering: “Women are significantly underrepresented in all Built Environment professions. For example, in Engineering less than 3% of the registered professionals are female”. [Dr Franks, CEO of the ECSA, 16 July 2010] • South Africa - Mining: “In South Africa, legislative barriers prevented women from working underground until relatively recently. Apart from various legislation introduced in recent years to promote and ensure equity in the workplace, the South African Mining Charter has specifically tried to redress this imbalance from the past by setting a target that women should make up at least 10% of mining companies’ total workforce by 2009”. [AngloGold Ashanti Report to Society 2007 – Employment] • South Africa – Construction: “Over the past four years, 1031% more women have sought to pursue a career in construction. ‘This is great news for the industry and the country as a whole. For too long, women have been made to feel that they could not pursue a career in construction simply because of their gender’”. [The Workplace, Business Times, dated 18 April 2010]

  7. ARE MEN THREATENED BY WOMEN IN THIS INDUSTRY? • South Africa – Dorina Ionescu, Senior Lecturer, University of Johannesburg, Email dated 14 July 2010: “My personal experience in Rumania was that the ladies must be pretty and nice and be pleased with a middle management position. I know the same perception prevails in France as my sister in law is an academic at the University of Avignon. When I was at the Lille conference in 2008 (women in engineering) I met with some of the ladies from Korea. Nearly all of them were very disappointed about the progress done in the field. Quite a few of them were replaced by males in their management positions and basically struggled to be heard. In conclusion we have an awful lot more to do before we achieve something.”

  8. ARE MEN THREATENED BY WOMEN IN THIS INDUSTRY? • South Africa – Danya Danilowitz, Planning Engineer at DRA Mineral Projects (Pty) Ltd, Email dated 19 October 2010: “Yes I believe they can be. I believe that a man’s perception of women will determine their ability to work with women in the work place. Even with men who are feminist in their leanings, they will usually reserve judgment until you have proved that you can do the job. However, while those men will ultimately respect you, there are men who will not and will continually try to be aggressive or even passive-aggressive (such as joking about your abilities in front of your peers). “

  9. ARE MEN THREATENED BY WOMEN IN THIS INDUSTRY? • South Africa – Venetia Davids, RLM Central Region Wagons, Transnet Email dated 27 October 2010: “…he (regional operations manager) proudly stated that he is not threatened by a female, but he believes that we still lack the maturity to operate in a male dominated environment and does not trust females have the aggressive behavior to run the business. This trail of thought led me to view our environment that we have no business culture to support the progressiveness of females in the rail industry. We still view them in specific jobs where they cannot get physically hurt.”

  10. EXCELLENT WOMEN IN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY COMPETITION 2010 Danai Magugumela

  11. EXCELLENT WOMEN IN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY COMPETITION 2010 Madeleen Engelbrecht

  12. EXCELLENT WOMEN IN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY COMPETITION 2010 Faith Mokhonoana

  13. HOW DO WE OVERCOME OUR OWN PREJUDICE? South Africa – Danya Danilowitz, Planning Engineer at DRA Mineral Projects (Pty) Ltd, Email dated 19 October 2010: “Work smart. Prove yourself and don’t put yourself down. I think women try to underestimate their abilities as they don’t want to be perceived as vain or aggressive. The saddest thing to see is educated, intelligent women making herself seem smaller to boost the ego of the men she works with. “ South Africa – Venetia Davids, RLM Central Region Wagons, Transnet Email dated 27 October 2010: “Most of us do not do enough of an introspect of where we are and where we would like to get to. The best way to overcome our own prejudice is to acknowledge it then we promote the change through children since they are the future of our country. Prejudice is bread in you as you grow up, it is what family and friends say, that inner circle of family and friends that we have. We cannot break that bond, but we can progress from it by change the breeding ground.”

  14. CURBING RACISM AS A BARRIER TO GROWTH • South Africa – Blennah Kekana, Change Leader at ArcelorMittal South Africa, Email dated 26 October 2010: • “People tend to weigh your ideas and input based on gender, it becomes more challenging when you add colour into it (need I say more). • Due to EE policies, we tend to be judged as “window dressers” with ignorance of your capabilities and qualifications. • The fact that some of us are at a family making stage, this is ‘informally’ viewed as an inconvenience • I find it quite easy to channel the workforce on the floor but the challenge lies in top management • Top management team in most companies comprises of the older generation and these are the guys who are still used to the old regime hence change is more difficult to handle for them.”

  15. CURBING RACISM AS A BARRIER TO GROWTH • South Africa – Danya Danilowitz, Planning Engineer at DRA Mineral Projects (Pty) Ltd, Email dated 19 October 2010: • “Any racism keeps the disenfranchised down. In a supposed capitalistic system, the best person for the job would ensure that the work place is a success. • Any type of quota system on the one hand or discrimination on the other can lead to less than optimum results. One needs to, however, balance the needs of the workplace with the availability of resources. • Therefore, picking from a pool of people based on preferences to gender, race, religion is a mistake to any long term goal. Diversity of people is preferable to having all employees cut from the same cloth.”

  16. UJ-GROUP FIVE SUMMIT 2010: Group Five panel members

  17. WHY GENDER EQUALITY? • United Kingdom • Of almost 5.5 million people working in SET occupations (including skilled trades) in the UK in 2008, only 12.3 per cent were women. • As of 2008, some 620,000 women in the UK are graduates in SET subjects.  However 70.2 per cent of these do not work in SET occupations.  • In 2008, women held only nine per cent of board directorships in SET FTSE 100 companies, and exclusively male boards still existed in 35 per cent of SET companies. • In 2008, the gender pay gap for science and technology professionals was 11.0 per cent. [Website: http://www.theukrc.org/resources/why-gender-equality]

  18. WHY GENDER EQUALITY? • South Africa – Construction: From a paper titled Influences on Women’s Choices of Careers in Construction: A South African study by Kolosa Madikizela and Professor Theo Haupt, 2010: • “Almost all respondents reported that females were afforded the same rights, benefits and opportunities as males in their organisations, had separate facilities such as toilets and ablutions and were afforded equal advancement and promotion opportunities. However, substantially less reported that there was available funding targeted at improving the status and qualifications of female employees, written gender equity policies in place, and gender-placed educational material provided. These findings suggest a lack of visible and tangible commitment to empower women in their organisations.”

  19. UJ-GROUP FIVE SUMMIT 2010:Eskom receives recognition for support of women in engineering

  20. STRIVING FOR EQUALITY • South Africa – Danai Magugumela, CEO BKS (Pty) Ltd, Interview 2008 “I must say I’m pleased that we are getting more women to enrol in engineering programmes. So over time I think we should just work hard at mainstreaming women to the extent that they proliferate. I don’t really think that there’s anything particularly magical that needs to happen, other than ensuring that women remain, are retained in the industry and I don’t think there needs to be any particular law of labelling of very substantial gender equality steps. I think we’ve got quite an appropriate environment just to allow those people to establish.”

  21. STRIVING FOR EQUALITY • South Africa – Venetia Davids, RLM Central Region Wagons, Transnet Email dated 16 July 2010: “In any company, especially in Transnet our most senior positions are held by men, however, as with time changing more females are rising up to the challenge of managing businesses and portfolios that were previously the perceptions that only a man can do that job well. My current experience makes me believe that we have broken that glass because although we still want to be pampered and respected as women, we also want to be acknowledged as your colleague and not a number to complete the management team.”

  22. STRIVING FOR EQUALITY • South Africa – Danya Danilowitz, Planning Engineer at DRA Mineral Projects (Pty) Ltd, Email dated 19 October 2010: • “I don’t think we can, as professional women, truly embrace striving for equality when there are women and children out there, in dire situations fighting for their basic human dignities. It begins at the grass roots of society. If we don’t help those who haven’t had the same opportunities as ourselves, we will be replicating the self same bias that creates racism and sexism. If we can truly lead by example and set an example to others, the world would change.”

  23. UJ-GROUP FIVE SWIET:Young Women in Schools Day

  24. STRIVING FOR EQUALITY • South Africa – Meera Joseph, Senior Lecturer, University of Johannesburg, Email dated 14 July 2010: • “'Excellence' is crucial for women engineers nowadays, as you are entering the ‘man's world’ in any Engineering environment. • Make yourself clear on what your job entails and explain to your boss what you can contribute to the company. Insecurity on the first few months is natural. • Learn from your mistakes. Failure is the stepping stone to success. • Measure your outputs on a weekly basis/ reflect on what you achieved on a weekly basis. Reflect what you could not achieve on a daily basis • Support, mentor and guide other women in your team or any women who is willing to take Engineering job. • Be vocal. This is crucial in the man's world. Your ‘voice and opinions’ should be 'noted' by your colleagues”.

  25. STRIVING FOR EQUALITY • Ann Lourens, HOD Industrial Engineering at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Email dated 22 October 2010: • “Network. Build relationships with key organisations and people. • Look for gaps and plug them. Look for opportunities to improve present systems or situations. • Be visible. You need to be seen doing what you do. • Share. Lead by sharing your talents, energies and ideas. • Recognition. Give praise where praise is due. • Build a team. Build a common vision with your team in order get better buy-in. • Communicate. Always keep people in the picture. • Be a role model. Be a mentor and lead by example.”

  26. UJ-GROUP FIVE SUMMIT 2010

  27. FUTURE OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY • United States of America • “Many women are forced to choose between motherhood and careers. America provides no statutory paid leave for mothers and only 12 weeks unpaid.” [Female Power, The Economist, 30 December 2009] • “Job segregation by race and gender in the science and engineering professions can be understood better from the ‘more like us’ argument. The assumption underlying this argument is that people with similar racial, gender, or educational background tend to think and act alike. When there is imperfect information on the potential of a prospective candidate, employers or managers would generally prefer to hire or promote someone who look and think like them: Homosocial Reproduction” From a paper titled The Glass Ceiling in Science and Engineering, Joyce Tang, 1997.

  28. FUTURE OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY • Europe • “Many professional women reject motherhood entirely; in Switzerland 40% of them are childless. • Austria, the Czech republic, Finland and Hungary provide up to three years of paid leave for mothers. Germany has introduced a parents salary to encourage mothers to stay home. More than 90% of companies in Germany and Sweden allow flexible working. • Britain, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, and above all, the Netherlands are keen on mothers working part-time. • ...Iceland, have added a further wrinkle by increasing incentives for fathers to spend more time caring for their children.” [Female Power, The Economist, 30 December 2009]

  29. FUTURE OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY • United Kingdom • The UK must continue to invest in women scientists, engineers and technologists to deliver economic success as well as social justice.  This investment will ensure that the country has the supply of world-class skills it needs continue to compete in global markets, supporting key growth areas such as advanced manufacturing, biotechnology and low carbon technologies. [Website: http://www.theukrc.org/resources/why-gender-equality]

  30. UJ-GROUP FIVE SUMMIT 2009

  31. KEY FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE FUTURE OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY • Production versus reproduction: combining work with child care (The Economist, 30 Dec 2009) • Skill-dependent economies and an ageing skill set. • Perception of engineering. • Homosocial reproduction (Tang, 1997). • Technology that enables home-working and flexibility. • Changes in career structure and retirement age. • Alternative promotion practices. • Legislation. • Mentorship.

  32. WiEBE and FOTAD: June 2010 Camp

  33. FUTURE OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA: a personal view • Promotion of SET careers amongst primary and secondary school children. • Revised school curricula to attract young girls to SET. • Mentorship and role models. • Revised employment practices to retain women in SET i.e. alternative recognition, improved childcare, revised school hours and holidays, family care, return-to-work policies, work from home practice, extended retirement age. • Re-thinking building and work environments. Improved and increased sanitation. • Engaging in effective employment practice to challenge homosocial reproduction.

  34. FUTURE OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA • South Africa – Dr Oswald Franks, CEO ECSA, Email dated 16 July 2010 • “We need to find the female role models across colour line and to hold them up to our female engineering students and young graduates in order to create the belief that the goal of being a female engineer or technician is achievable. • You could challenge the profession, both male and female, to address some of the areas I mention above in order to transform the engineering profession to be more representative and egalitarian. • The Engineering Council of South Africa is willing to play a role in facilitating or serving as a catalyst to establish such an initiative, but we require the volunteers to come forward and make a difference”.

  35. “It always seems impossible until it is done”Nelson Mandela 03 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION! hnel@uj.ac.zaor 082 924 6059 www.uj.ac.za/wiebe

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