Celebrating Women in Engineering
Happy International Women in Engineering Day! In honor of the holiday, I wanted to share some insight into the good and the bad of being a woman in engineering, and my hopes for the future.
Being Alone at The Table
While being a woman in engineering has come a long way, there is still so much progress to be made. Out of countless interviews, I have only ever been interviewed by women twice. Out of countless company sponsored dinners, I have never been with more than two other women. In my coursework, I have been in many groups where I was the only woman.
I think it is important to acknowledge the difficulty of always feeling like the odd person out just because of your gender. The crazy part of it is that it has nothing to even do with your personality. I play sports, I grew up with two brothers, and I play video games, yet I always feel so separated from the guys sitting next to me.
When learning to use surveying equipment for the first time in a course, I had the same level of experience as the guys in my group, but every time I was the person designated to take notes or just observe instead of setting up the equipment. The saddest part was that I soon noticed that it wasn’t just me. In almost every group, being female pretty much just meant you ‘probably had the best handwriting’ or ‘probably made things look prettier’. Despite being on the same playing field, for some reason we were still left out.
The Brighter Future
I was incredibly lucky to be chosen as one of the students from my university to attend the 2022 Society of Women Engineers (SWE) national conference in Houston. The conference was a complete 180 from what I was used to – instead of being in the minority, I was one of the many. The environment felt so welcoming compared to how I would normally feel at an event of this magnitude. It was mind blowing to not only be surrounded by so many other talented women in engineering, but to have the chance to hear from and speak with them.
I still have the notes in my phone that I took during my favorite panel that talked about the women in Star Wars and how we could learn from their leadership, and it is a message I want every woman in STEM to hear:
First, face your fears. It can be so difficult to feel like you have to fight for your place in the room but keep going. Make the hard choice to act. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don’t be afraid to start the conversation.
Second, hold the door. The first idea of being brave pushes into this idea. It is so important to not only be brave for yourself, but for the young girl coming behind you. The only way for STEM fields to become more accessible to the next generation of young women is to keep facing our fears and pushing to not be the only woman in the room.
I have so much hope for the future of engineering because of the women who are breaking down the walls and driving innovation. I look forward to the day when companies aren’t struggling to reach a 30% quota for women in engineering roles, but they have far exceeded that and are pushing for 50%.
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About the author
Jordan Wilton
Jordan Wilton is studying Civil and Environmental Engineering at Mississippi State University. Outside of class, Jordan loves playing Ultimate Frisbee and serves as the President of the Women’s team at MSU. She also serves as President for the Club Sports Federation Executive Board at Mississippi State. While being a Pearson Campus Ambassador at Mississippi State, Jordan has served on the Sustainability and Social Impact Committee, and has recently become the Regional Coordinator for her region.
