Boys need to be taught that when girls and women express themselves, they shouldn’t be interrupted and ignored, as they are now:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/opinion/sunday/speaking-while-female.html?rref=opinion&module=Ribbon&version=context®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&pgtype=Blogs
“…That is one of the arguments for an all-women’s college like where my D attends - because all your math / science classes ARE all women…”
Well, there are pros/cons to that route. Regardless of how well you are able to participate in class and learn the material in college… you are still likely to work in an environment of mostly men. No right or wrong answer, but I psersonally have zero regrets about attending a STEM school (about 25% women in 1980s). I arrived at the workplace with plenty of experience working projects with mostly guys, and team dynamics is a big part of my work and many other engineering jobs.
As for why so few women in engineering, I’m thinking it is because women with high math stats often have high overall stats and qualify for other options too.
My niece was great at math but didn’t like sciece much. She got a degree and psych and is a civil servant for the county, answering phones and re-directing people to the county website. My sis thinks niece has ideal job, but S, D, H and I would not be able to tolrate the job at all. My other relatives who were good at math went into business or medicine (MD).
The bottom line is that working fathers don’t beat themselves up, nor does Western society beat them, up for not attending to their children 24/7.
Male engineers never get told, “if you’re not going to raise your own kids, then why did u bother having them…”
I haven’t waded through this whole thread, but I can say that the world of engineering can be a mixed bag for a lot of women. Engineers are often guys who don’t exactly have the best social skills. They’re often myopic in their frame of reference. Part of it is their demanding education which leaves little time for socializing and taking enriching humanities classes. Many are frankly – dare I say it? – boring. Many are sexist. Many are downright hostile to a woman who’s a peer or maybe - gasp - better than they are. And I say this as someone who comes from a family of engineers: I’m the daughter of 2 engineers, the step-daughter of a 3rd engineer and the sister of 3 engineers. My mother and sister, both of whom had very successful careers that began as engineers, boy, do they have stories. My tough mother – who was among the first women hired at a key department of an internationally renowned American company – stuck it out for 30 years. My sister bagged engineering after 8 years; she went first into management, later getting an MBA and heading up HR at a Fortune 100 manufacturer, where she hoped to make things a little easier for young women entering the field. I asked her if things have changed over the years. She snorted and shrugged, "only on the surface. "
There is no great outcry for more men in women-dominated professions like teaching, nursing, social work, etc. because they are on the low end of the pay scale for degree-required fields. The male dominated fields tend to be the higher paying ones. That is one of the reasons it is such a shame that more women seem not to engage in them.
GMT, that may be the bottom line to you, but you classified parents who stay at home as mere butt-wipers. Society does not beat up working moms any more than those of us who stay home. I guess we should all send our kids off to boarding school.
When my two oldest kids were toddlers, I worked three 9- to 10-hour days a week. When one client, a contractor, figured out I was part-time, he sneeringly said to me, “Oh, you must be a MOOOOM…” I’ll never forget the tone of his voice. Shocked me.
27-30 hours/week is a LOT of hours for part-time work and considered full-time in many circles. What a nasty client contractor you had. Ick! I work out of my home now and run my nonprofit that way. It’s more efficient and I don’t have to rent office or storage space. I get a LOT more done than many other orgs.