Transcript No Slide Title

THE FUTURE OF WOMEN IN
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY IN
SOUTH AFRICA
5TH SAWomEng Conference 2010
CAPE TOWN
Hannelie Nel
19 July 2010
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
• Global: Goal Three of the United Nations Millennium
Development Goals is the promotion of gender equality and the
empowerment of women across the globe by 2015. The
attraction, education and retention of women in science,
engineering and technology are paramount to the socio-economic
development of all countries. [http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals],
accessed 24 January 2010].
• China: The Economist of 12 July 2010 state that the rise of the
Chinese economy is directly related to the education and
empowerment of Chinese women over the past twenty years [The
Economist, 12 July 2010].
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
• United Kingdom: “The loss to the UK economy of women
scientists, engineers and technologists who are unemployed,
inactive or working below their level of qualification is estimated to
be £ 2 billion.
• The UK must continue to invest in women in science, engineering
and technology, to overcome barriers, build on achievements and
accelerate
results”.
[http://www.ukrc4setwomen.org/html/resources/ukrc-publications;
accessed 16 July 2010]
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GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
• United States of America: “At the end of her campaign to
become America’s first female president in 2008, Hillary Clinton
remarked that her 18 million votes in the Democratic Party’s
primaries represented 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling.
Women make up almost half of American workers. They earn
almost 60% of university degrees in America and Europe.
• Women continue to lag seriously behind men in a handful of
subjects, such as engineering and computer sciences, where
they earned about one-fifth of degrees in 2006.” [Female
Power, The Economist, 30 December 2009]
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SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE
• South Africa: The Centre for Research on Science, Engineering
and Technology (SET) in South Africa found that women
represent fifty two percent of the African population, estimated at
a total of 800 million.
• In South Africa, the number of female student doctoral enrolments
and graduates are the lowest in the Natural Sciences and
Engineering sectors. Women are under-represented in SET
industry, and in academia women represent less than 30% of the
workforce.
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SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE
• South Africa – Engineering: “Women are significantly underrepresented in all
Built Environment professions. For example, in Engineering less than 3% of the
registered professionals are female”. [Dr Franks, CEO of the ECSA, 16 July
2010]
• South Africa - Mining: “In South Africa, legislative barriers prevented women
from working underground until relatively recently. Apart from various legislation
introduced in recent years to promote and ensure equity in the workplace, the
South African Mining Charter has specifically tried to redress this imbalance from
the past by setting a target that women should make up at least 10% of mining
companies’ total workforce by 2009”. [AngloGold Ashanti Report to Society 2007
– Employment]
• South Africa – Construction: “Over the past four years, 1031% more women
have sought to pursue a career in construction. ‘This is great news for the
industry and the country as a whole. For too long, women have been made to
feel that they could not pursue a career in construction simply because of their
gender’”. [The Workplace, Business Times, dated 18 April 2010]
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SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE
• South Africa – Construction: From a paper titled Influences
on Women’s Choices of Careers in Construction: A South
African study by Kolosa Madikizela and Professor Theo
Haupt, 2010:
• “Almost all respondents reported that females were afforded the
same rights, benefits and opportunities as males in their
organisations, had separate facilities such as toilets and ablutions
and were afforded equal advancement and promotion
opportunities. However, substantially less reported that there was
available funding targeted at improving the status and
qualifications of female employees, written gender equity policies
in place, and gender-placed educational material provided.
These findings suggest a lack of visible and tangible commitment
to empower women in their organisations.”
FROM SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN IN
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
• South Africa – Dorina Ionescu, Senior Lecturer, University of
Johannesburg, Email dated 14 July 2010:
“My personal experience in Rumania was that the ladies must be
pretty and nice and be pleased with a middle management
position. I know the same perception prevails in France as my
sister in law is an academic at the University of Avignon. When I
was at the Lille conference in 2008 (women in engineering) I met
with some of the ladies from Korea. Nearly all of them were very
disappointed about the progress done in the field. Quite a few of
them were replaced by males in their management positions and
basically struggled to be heard. In conclusion we have an awful
lot more to do before we achieve something.”
WIEBE 2007
Engineering as a career choice
Danai Magugumela, CEO BKS Group, with her staff on-site
FROM SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN IN
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
• South Africa – Danai Magugumela, CEO BKS (Pty) Ltd,
Interview 2008
“I must say I’m pleased that we are getting more women to enrol in
engineering programmes. So over time I think we should just work
hard at mainstreaming women to the extent that they proliferate. I
don’t really think that there’s anything particularly magical that
needs to happen, other than ensuring that women remain, are
retained in the industry and I don’t think there needs to be any
particular law of labelling of very substantial gender equality
steps. I think we’ve got quite an appropriate environment just to
allow those people to establish.”
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FROM SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN IN
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
• South Africa – Venetia Davids, RLM Central Region Wagons,
Transnet Email dated 16 July 2010:
“In any company, especially in Transnet our most senior positions
are held by men, however, as with time changing more females
are rising up to the challenge of managing businesses and
portfolios that were previously the perceptions that only a man
can do that job well. My current experience makes me believe
that we have broken that glass because although we still want to
be pampered and respected as women, we also want to be
acknowledged as your colleague and not a number to complete
the management team.”
FROM SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN IN
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
• South Africa – Meera Joseph, Senior Lecturer, University of
Johannesburg, Email dated 14 July 2010:
• “'Excellence' is crucial for women engineers nowadays, as you are
entering the ‘man's world’ in any Engineering environment.
• Make yourself clear on what your job entails and explain to your boss
what you can contribute to the company. Insecurity on the first few
months is natural.
• Learn from your mistakes. Failure is the stepping stone to success.
• Measure your outputs on a weekly basis/ reflect on what you achieved on
a weekly basis. Reflect what you could not achieve on a daily basis
• Support, mentor and guide other women in your team or any women who
is willing to take Engineering job.
• Be vocal. This is crucial in the man's world. Your ‘voice and opinions’
should be 'noted' by your colleagues”.
WIEBE 2008
Passionate about engineering and the built
environment
Dr Anita Venter welcomes guests to the 2008 WIEBE Summit
WIEBE SUMMIT 2008
Sponsors included Group Five, The Sandvik Group, BKS Limited, gtz, MCTS,
Tshumisano
KEY THEMES IDENTIFIED BY SA WOMEN
ENGINEERS IN 2008 FOR SUCCESS IN
ENGINEERING
1. STIMULATE EXCELLENCE
2. CELEBRATE OUR FEMININITY
3. EXTENDED FAMILY SUPPORT / FLEXIBLE WORKING PRACTICES
4. GO BEYOND CURRENT BARRIERS
5. FEAR – THE DRIVER OF SUCCESS
6. ENCOURAGE WOMEN MENTORSHIP
7. ENGINEERING IS A PEOPLE ORIENTATED FIELD
FUTURE OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
AND TECHNOLOGY
• United States of America
• “Many women are forced to choose between motherhood and careers.
America provides no statutory paid leave for mothers and only 12 weeks
unpaid.” [Female Power, The Economist, 30 December 2009]
• “Job segregation by race and gender in the science and engineering
professions can be understood better from the ‘more like us’ argument.
The assumption underlying this argument is that people with similar
racial, gender, or educational background tend to think and act alike.
When there is imperfect information on the potential of a prospective
candidate, employers or managers would generally prefer to hire or
promote someone who look and think like them: Homosocial
Reproduction” From a paper titled The Glass Ceiling in Science and
Engineering, Joyce Tang, 1997.
FUTURE OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
AND TECHNOLOGY
• Europe
• “Many professional women reject motherhood entirely; in
Switzerland 40% of them are childless.
• Austria, the Czech republic, Finland and Hungary provide up to
three years of paid leave for mothers. Germany has introduced a
parents salary to encourage mothers to stay home. More than
90% of companies in Germany and Sweden allow flexible
working.
• Britain, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, and above all, the
Netherlands are keen on mothers working part-time.
• ...Iceland, have added a further wrinkle by increasing incentives
for fathers to spend more time caring for their children.”
[Female Power, The Economist, 30 December 2009]
KEY FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE
FUTURE OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
AND TECHNOLOGY
• Production versus reproduction: combining work with child care (The
Economist, 30 Dec 2009)
• Skill-dependent economies and an ageing skill set.
• Perception of engineering.
• Homosocial reproduction (Tang, 1997).
• Technology that enables home-working and flexibility.
• Changes in career structure and retirement age.
• Alternative promotion practices.
• Legislation.
• Mentorship.
FUTURE OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
AND TECHNOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA: a
personal view
• Promotion of SET careers amongst primary and secondary school
children.
• Revised school curricula to attract young girls to SET.
• Mentorship and role models.
• Revised employment practices to retain women in SET i.e.
alternative recognition, improved childcare, revised school hours
and holidays, family care, return-to-work policies, work from home
practice, extended retirement age.
• Re-thinking building and work environments. Improved and
increased sanitation.
• Engaging in effective employment practice to challenge
homosocial reproduction.
FUTURE OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
AND TECHNOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA
• South Africa – Dr Oswald Franks, CEO ECSA, Email dated 16
July 2010
• “We need to find the female role models across colour line and to
hold them up to our female engineering students and young
graduates in order to create the belief that the goal of being a
female engineer or technician is achievable.
• You could challenge the profession, both male and female, to
address some of the areas I mention above in order to transform
the engineering profession to be more representative and
egalitarian.
• The Engineering Council of South Africa is willing to play a role in
facilitating or serving as a catalyst to establish such an initiative,
but we require the volunteers to come forward and make a
difference”.
“It always seems impossible until it is done”
Nelson Mandela
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!