The gender gap in engineering education : a case study from Central Queensland University

The achievements of a nation are largely based on advances in science and technology, as well as rising levels of educational achievements of the population. In addition, resources devoted to educating the female population therefore yield significant benefits for individuals, households, the economy and the nation as a whole. It is well established that in Australia, the proportion of female graduates in mathematics, science and engineering is much lower than in many other OECD countries. The focus in this article is on engineering education with particular reference to data from Central Queensland University (CQU), Rockhampton, Australia, for the 1989-2002 period. Even though female and male engineering graduates in Australia have a virtual guarantee of employment, the low level of female enrolment in engineering education continues to be anomalous and unsatisfactory. This ongoing phenomenon is the outcome of numerous factors, including the self-defeating belief that technical education is primarily a male domain. After canvassing the likely reasons for the gender gap in engineering education, a series of recommendations to increase the enrolment levels of female students in engineering are also included in this article.