Women Need Support Too
Issues in Science and Technology
National Academy of Science, April 2000

Minority Engineers

In "Support Them and They Will Come" (Issues, Winter 1999-2000), George Campbell, Jr. makes a compelling case for a renewed national commitment to recruit and educate minority engineers. There is another group under-represented in the engineering and technical work force that also deserves the nation's attention: women.

Women earn more than half of all bachelor's degrees, yet only 1.7 percent of them earn bachelor's degrees in engineering, compared to 9.4 percent of men who graduate with engineering degrees. Men are three times more likely than women to choose computer science as a field of study and more than five times more likely to choose engineering.

As a result, women are significantly under-represented in key segments of the technical work force. Women are least represented in engineering, where they make up only 11 percent of the work force. And women executives make up only about 2 percent of women working in technology companies. Rep. Connie Morella likes to point out that there are more women in the clergy (12 percent) than in engineering. There also are more women in professional athletics, with women accounting for almost 24 percent of our working athletes.

Today, creating a diverse technical work force is not only necessary to ensure equality of opportunity and access to the best jobs, it is essential to maintaining our nation's technological leadership. In my view, our dependence on temporary foreign technical workers is not in our long term national interest. As we increasingly compete with creativity, knowledge, and innovation, a diverse work force allows us to draw on different perspectives and a richer pool of ideas to fuel technological and market advances. Our technical work force is literally shaping the future of our country, and the interests of all Americans must be represented in this incredible transformation.

We must address this challenge on many fronts and at all stages of the science and engineering pipeline. Increased funding is important, but it is not enough. Each underrepresented group faces unique challenges. For example, women leave high school as well prepared in math and science as men, but many minority students come from high schools with deficient mathematics and science curricula.

The K-12 years are critical. By the time children turn 14, many of them-- particularly girls and minorities--have already decided against careers in science and technology. To counter this trend, we must improve the image of the technical professional, strengthen K-12 math and science teaching, offer mentors and role models, and provide children and parents with meaningful information about technology careers. The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering's "Math is Power" campaign is one outstanding program that is taking on some of these challenges.

As Campbell notes, we must build a support infrastructure for college bound women and minorities and for those already in the technical work force. This includes expanding internships, mentoring programs, and other support networks, as well as expanding linkages among technology businesses and minority-serving institutions.

Perhaps most important, business leadership is needed at every stage of the science and engineering pipeline. After all, America's high technology companies are important customers of the U.S. education system. With the economy booming, historically low unemployment rates, and rising dependence on temporary foreign workers, ensuring that all Americans have the ability to contribute to our innovation-driven economy is no longer good corporate citizenship, it is a business imperative.

KELLY H. CARNES
Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy
U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, D.C.