MU has embraced a nationwide effort to increase the percentage of women participating in the fields of science, technology, math and engineering.
Engineering is the second fastest-growing college at MU. Working against the common assumption that men dominate the field of engineering, women nationally and locally are looking to change the complexion of the field. MU’s College of Engineering has been steadily growing with current enrollment by women placed at 13 percent, representing 2,700 female students.
Women such as Society of Women Engineers faculty adviser Kate Trauth, SWE President Claudia Krueger and the college’s recruitment coordinator Tina Balser all said they are working to open doors for women looking to get involved in these programs. Balser is in the process of pursuing a master’s degree focusing on how women and STEM fields intermingle.
Trauth said generating interest for women in the field of engineering is a process. It’s about reaching out to women at an early age, around middle and high school, and describing exactly what engineering entails.
“These girls know exactly what the job of a doctor or teacher or fireman is,” she said. “It isn’t always clear what an engineer does.”
That is what she’s working to change. Trauth said she wants students to realize the job is a creative endeavor.
“Any topic of life, products or problems, there’s an engineering aspect to it,” she said
Balser stressed similar issues as Trauth. When women are able to feel connected to the program, she said, they are more comfortable becoming involved with it.
“It’s important that these girls can see themselves in the career itself,” she said. “The ability to relate comes from seeing someone recognizable – a parent or a relative.”
For this reason, MU’s women engineers constantly work through outreach. Through events like the Mother-Daughter Engineering Day and visits to local schools such as St. Louis’ Ritenour High School, the women spread the word about how women really can immerse themselves and become successful in the fields of STEM. The Mother-Daughter Engineering Day, held in April, gave young women and their mothers the opportunity to expose themselves to engineering through activities, presentations and recreation.
“It’s critical to develop these interests early on,” Balser said in a news release.
These outreach activities show students who aren’t directly exposed to engineering through family what an engineering career can offer, those involved said.
Krueger originally came to MU as a business major but later switched to engineering after she found her passion in engineering.
“I wish someone would have come to me and showed me what engineering was really about when I was that age,” she said in the release.
It helps to have students like Krueger as role models, Trauth said.
She said Krueger is the type of woman that engineers aspire to be like and to see more of around campus. Through SWE, Krueger and other members visit nearby middle schools monthly to spread awareness of the need for female engineers.
“With engineering, you can go anywhere,” Krueger said.