The University of Queensland is taking steps aimed directly at increasing the number of women working as engineers in Australia.
The Faculty of Engineering, Physical Sciences and Architecture has recognised the dearth of female staff in engineering schools and the downstream impact this is having on the profession.
Professor John Simmons, head of the School of Engineering, said the faculty had embarked on a project of national significance to help the profession correct this imbalance.
Engineering Diversity involves outside equity consultants, Good Practice Group, and University anthropologist Dr Lesley Jolly who will study the School's culture and norms over the next six months.
Current and past staff and students will also be asked for their input and suggestions in the drive to build a new more open, productive and dynamic culture within the School and foster improved relations with the wider community.
"We want the profession of engineering to more accurately reflect society. At the moment it doesn't as only five to six percent of practising engineers are female," said Professor Simmons.
"Women have a lot to offer the profession. They bring with them a broader spectrum of skills, attitudes and problem-solving approaches with which to address engineering problems and undoubtedly enrich the profession."
Professor Simmons said there was no good reason why engineering should have become and remained so male-dominated.
The need to recruit more female engineering staff and students was high on the list of recommendations in a 1996 report commissioned by the Institution of Engineers, Australia, entitled Changing the Culture: Engineering Education into the Future.
Professor Simmons, an honorary fellow of the Institution, was deputy chairman of that review steering committee and the person responsible for writing the final report.
The first of 14 recommendations was: that engineering educators address the serious social imbalance in students seeking to enter the engineering profession, in particular the low proportion of women.
About 18 percent of UQ's present engineering students are female, a figure comparable to most engineering schools around the country. One way of redressing the gender balance is seen to be through having more women staff who then act as positive role models and mentors.
Engineering Diversity was the brainchild of Dr Cynthia Mitchell, a senior lecturer in chemical engineering at St Lucia before recently taking up a position at the University of Sydney.
"She got the whole thing going and I'm confident this project will deliver lasting benefits that will be a tribute to Dr Mitchell's vision," Professor Simmons said. Though not a member of the five-strong steering committee, she retains observer status and will remain involved.
The first step will be to research other universities, government departments and industry around Australia to establish what is "best practice" in encouraging social and gender diversity in engineering. UQ will then be measured against this yardstick.
Professor Simmons said the School would be working in conjunction with the Department of Main Roads which also had a strong interest in diversity.
"Engineering Diversity aims to build a more dynamic and diverse culture in the School so that people from a wide range of backgrounds are not only accepted, but also valued and respected," he said.
"In the longer term this should enrich engineering as a profession and ensure engineers reflect the full range of community values and experience."
For further information, contact Professor John Simmons (telephone 3365 4498) or Lyn Graham, Good Practice Group (email: lgraham@powerup.com.au).
