Women Can Be Engineers, Too!

Abstract

Prior to the late 1800s, engineering education was available only to male students. For most women whose aspirations were inclined toward science or engineering, the educational system and associated opportunities would not be available until late in the twentieth century. Thus, many of the early women “engineers” were not educated as engineers in the sense one would expect today. In 1893, the official records only documented three women as having received engineering degrees in the U.S. As women did endeavor to be educated and practice as engineers, a backlash developed. Once educated, women wanted to participate as men did in the engineering societies established for camaraderie, professional development, and networking opportunities. Those societies did not welcome women. It would take many years for the engineering societies as well as the engineering honor society to admit women. Profiles of engineering and scientific women from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century are provided.