Female Engineers Share Experiences In A Male-Dominated Field

"I was one of five female engineers in classes of 200."

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[sophiarose]

I loved the girl saying she liked math and science because it was challenging, reassuring to know you can be in a field even if you aren't "naturally" good at it.

[PouryaBigonah]

This is the type of empowerment I need to listen to eye of the tiger 6 times in a row.

[Video]

I'm a young female engineer and I had a contractor trying to explain to me what was being done on a remodel project and why when I was at a job site checking on something. He simply assumed I had no idea what was going on and that he had to explain it to me in a over simplified manner. Little did he know that I designed everything he was building.

[ila]

I'm a 6th semester electrical and electronics engineering (female) student and in my class 70% are female. I'm from India btw.

[HarrisJoyLHS]

I hope the woman in the maroon top reported her coworkers... that's completely unprofessional. They shoud've been repremanded for that kind of behavior.

[mariapazgonzalezlesme]

I'm gonna pray for all those wonderful women and have success in their goals.

[GoodCharlotteGirl]

I went to college for Video Game Programming and the first class of my first semester, we had to work in groups starting on day 1 and all the guys wanted to be in my group, but my group didn't want me to help.

Now I work at a car dealership and I have customers who tell me that they want to speak to a man because he will know what he is talking about when it comes to cars...

[ashleymeyer]

I dated a fellow engineering student and one of the big reasons we broke up was because he told me that he wanted me to stay home and take care of the kids despite me going into a field with more job security and opportunities.

[f_]

Just wanted to say... I'm really proud of every women out there chasing her dream. YOU'RE AMWSOME.

[oliviamacrobbie]

I studied maths and computer science at uni and often found it be be an advantage being a girl. First day definitely sucked seeing a room full of about 200 guys and maybe 10 girls max. However, I definitely think that lecturers and tutors would put more effort in explaining things to us girls than the guys. So when the tutor would go around the class and help each of us individually, they would spend about twice as long with girls compared to the guys. I genuinely think it was just subconscious on the tutors part, and at first I found it quite condesending. But hey, not gonna complain about getting more help!

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

I want to be an Imagineer, an engineer that comes up with the ideas and designs for rides and hotels for Disney. I’m glad more females want to be engineers

[AD-egcw]

I had to prove I didn't *cheat* on a math final exam just because I got the highest score in the class. I was forced to show my notes. Infuriating.

[Ashley-snxe]

As a female who is nervous about taking astronomy classes and perusing astronomy as a career, this was nice to hear. I know people will try to bully me or mess with me, but knowing how to handle it is really helpful. So thank you ladies and don’t listen to what other people tell you, you’re amazing!

[nikitakarim]

As a female Software Engineer, I would love to see and hear more videos from Shreya.

I’m only at the beginning of my career, but I wish I had figures like Shreya to help me better understand my “micro-aggression.”

Shreya, everything you’ve experienced is relatable and just sounds too familiar. You’re a badass

[julissadc]

Im a software engineer, and boy did I have problems with my university teachers, sometimes they refused to belive I coded my own programs and I had to explain every single detail of it to convince them, the other students were enbarassed if I explained something to them, like that hurted their ego (sorry for the bad english, not my first language)

[priyab]

I did Chemical Engineering, which I loved. And in one class, my professor asked if we comprehended things in our minds through images or words, I said words and he told me I should be in literature. The same professor also told me, on another occasion, that pretty girls shouldn't be in engineering, they should in social sciences. After college, I started working for a private company led by two male directors; they would give me the biggest projects to handle because they didn't trust the others to meet deadlines and give quality work, but when it came to pay raises, the male engineers would always get higher amounts. And I was told by someone else, that one of the directors thought I was the prettiest in the office and that if he had the chance he would "try something" on me. In the end I realized I was harming myself mentally, by being in that toxic environment and left the job. The only good thing I did notice is that most of the younger men in the field are more open and accepting of treating us as equals, as oppose to the older generations. So there is hope that these stigmas would change in time, and we would be recognized by the value of our mind and ethics, and not our bodies.

[nessatrbl]

As a hesitant college girl, I needed this

[RebecaWD]

Those little "jokes" are the root of the problem

[awaywiththefaeries]

I was 1 of 2 girls in a class of 40 when I was in engineering class. The teachers didnt treat me any differently to the guys. But the male students insisted upon trying to do the hands on things for me. But I was actually quicker and more efficient (basically better) at the practical side of things. One perk was because I was a female I was offered an apprenticeship on the spot for Morgan Motors as they didnt have enough women on the team.

[primcessestrella]

I want to study Renewable Energy Engineering, I'm in my senior year of High School, and in my school in the last two semesters they teach you more focused classes depending on what you want to study in college. Anyways, in my class we are like 5 girls and 50 boys, and there's one boy who's always saying that we (girls) shouldn't be there, that Engineering is just for boys, the thing here is that he is failing all of the classes, and is always asking me and my friend for help in projects that he claims we shouldn't be doing it makes no sense at all. But, that's the thing about being a girl and an Engineer, prove others you have the strength to make it through the critics and do what you love.