Summary: Engineering Women Getting Paid Equally

Fixing the Problem: Engineering Women Getting Paid Equally and Treated Equally
Erin, age of twenty six, found out that she was being paid $20,000 less than her coworkers who were male college undergraduates. This is what she said. “I knew for a while that others were paid at a higher rate compared to me. I just accepted that and I don’t really know why. I guess I thought I just wasn’t as good and others were slightly more experienced. I am an engineer and have a masters degree in my subject (and a lot of student debt to go with it), this is necessary for my job role, and this is my first company after graduating. I am the only female engineer. Others in the same role as me were less qualified, studying part time and having their fees paid for

In the early 1960’s, a President’s Commission on the Status of Women highlighted the need for women to fill the lack of jobs in teaching science and engineering. In the 1960’s specifically, less than one percent of engineers were women. Women in engineering were also less likely to have more advanced degrees than their male counterparts. That reflected on men and women’s dominant opinion as to women’s participation in the workforce during this time. Even though the Civil Rights Act changed the public’s political views, it didn’t raise the women pursuing engineering degrees excessively. All through 1968 and 1978, there was an estimated one hundred percent increase of female science and engineering majors in the US. Between 1971 and 1972, a study of over four hundred and forty campuses nationwide displayed that about seventeen percent of the polled STEM majors were women (unintentionally, there was limited discrimination in the American Education System). For the women who applied to engineering programs were enlisted at the same rates as men. Unfortunately, it was estimated that women made up about five percent of engineering majors in that period. Similar efforts and supporting actions were enforced throughout the US to increase recruitment rates in the STEM system. In the mid 1980’s, there was predicted to be a shortage of engineers by the 2000’s. That helped increase the push for recruitment for women

Why, then, does the “dumb girls are hot” and “smart girls are ugly” persist? “Girls are being led to believe they have to choose between firm and fabulous or smart and savvy. It’s self-destructive,” says McKellar, who graduated summa cum laude in mathematics from UCLA in 1998. “We’re smarter and more capable than we think, and my mission is to help girls find that.” When she first declared her major, McKellar had a hard time convincing others—and at first, even herself—that she fit the part. “Here’s the truth. I didn’t think of myself as a math major, either,” says McKellar. “I’d gotten a five on the AP Calculus test. But when I got to college and thought about taking a math class, I still didn’t think I’d be good at it. Then I said, wait a minute. If I don’t think I’m good at this, then who