Female Students and the Field of Engineering: Stemming the Tide of Gender Underrepresentation for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Underrepresentation of females in the field of engineering is overwhelming and posing a serious concern to the human race, especially in the developing countries. This has grievous impacts on the socio-economic and environmental growth and development of the nation. The paper seeks to investigate: i) female students’ knowledge of the fields of engineering; ii) female students’ perceptions of what the gender of engineers ought to be; and iii) the various factors that influence students’ career choice in engineering. The study was a descriptive study of the survey type. Data were collected using a self-constructed questionnaire. The sample of the study was 366 public female senior secondary II students who were in science class in Ikere-Ekiti, Nigeria. The findings revealed that majority of the respondents were familiar with the traditional disciplines in the field of engineering. The respondents perceived engineering as a male-dominating profession. Personal, family, school, and social indices were adduced as factors responsible for female students’ choice of career. It was concluded that there exists gender discrimination in the choice of female students’ career. It was recommended that female students have the ability, rights, knowledge, and duties in the society, and they can be professionals in engineering.