Women in Engineering

MSU88CHEng
Wed, 19 Feb 2020 04:14:14 +0000

Like @MaineLonghorn, I really haven’t dealt with that type of discrimination, except once. When I was in grad school, there was one guy who told all the women in our grad class that the only reason we were there was because we were women, and that was also the only way we got the grades and accomplishments to get into a top 10 chemical engineering grad program… We all were strong enough to tell him that he was an idiot–and so did almost all the rest of the guys in our class (including the one who ended up as my DH). Most guys really do get it.

Also, I’m the only female engineer in my department at work. Last summer, there were 3 women who were routinely around. Then one woman drifted away from the group (she is a continuous improvement engineer, and our dept had the routine down to chart our progress and track our biggest barriers, so we didn’t need her around fulltime). The other female engineer (young, and building her career) then got moved to a different dept., so I was the “lone” woman. But it seriously took me 3 months to realize that I was the only woman surrounded by 12 men. I just did my thing, and they did theirs–if I need their help, they listen and help, and vice versa. I’ve had my disagreements with some, but I feel respected and listened to.

There was recently a problem with a guy in the department bullying and making crass comments to production employees. One of the employees (male, not that it matters), finally had enough and took it to HR. It just so happened on the day this all went down, I had a very public disagreement with the guy who had been accused of bullying–I stood my ground, and he pretty much backed down after he scoffed at my response and I ignored him–at that point, he wasn’t worth my time. But then he was on suspension pending investigation of the other event with the production employee. My boss actually pulled me into the office because he’d heard about my confrontational event with the bully “to make sure I was ok” and felt safe. I was perfectly FINE. And I told my boss it was a disagreement, but it was handled. So MAYBE there’s a feeling of needing to protect me?? But I made it clear that I can handle myself, and my boss agreed that I don’t put up with crap from anyone.

I think that’s kind of key for women engineers–speak up for and advocate for yourself, be professional, and expect professionalism from others. If people aren’t treating you professionally, they’re not worth your time.