Final Assignment WS

Part I: Introduction to Industrial Engineering

I joined Virginia Tech as I wanted to pursue a degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering. One of the roots of engineering lie in the interest an individual has in math and science. In 1992, the amount of girls which took math and science courses was very low compared to the boys. But this trend has changed since then as there is not much of a difference in the amount of math and science classes they take. But the amount of boys taking advanced science courses is yet significantly higher than the girls.

Let me briefly explain what consists in Industrial Engineering. This is the least technical engineering as it focuses on management, optimization, statistics, facilities planning and focuses on a wide variety of problem solving when it comes to finding probabilities. Even though this is an engineering degree, many under-graduates from this field enter fields not associated to engineering at all. The reason is that what we learn from this field can be applied to anything as optimization and correct management is required everywhere. The only technical aspects in this field are absorbed by learning the basics of other engineering departments. To complete this degree successfully it is very important to have a strong base in mathematics and logical reasoning. This is the reason Industrial Engineers are hired for a variety of purposes from finance, management, sales and specifically the manufacturing department. Since this engineering has so many different uses it is highly preferred by those individuals with a business background or inclination. Since we learn the basics of other engineering fields, very often we are involved in the role of coordinating with engineers from different fields. The reason I am stressing about this field is because of its nature, women are very open to entering it.

Since I have been in Virginia Tech, I can confidently say that the ratio of men to women in our department here is 55-45. Many of my female friends in the department are doing very well and have also got great opportunities to participate in co-op’s with companies like UPS, GE, Boeing, Accenture and many others. So, from ‘my personal’ experience I can say that there is no issue with regards to coping with the material at hand.

Part II: General and Industrial Engineering Trends

I think I am entering a partially male-dominated field. I say partial now because previously Industrial Engineering was specifically associated to optimization of the factory. The situation is very different now. The average salary for a male in ISE is $44,100 while the average for is $41,300. But another statistic which I found (from Bayer) is that Industrial Engineering is the last in the bottom five natural sciences and engineering occupations for women. My views were based on the amount of international women students who are enrolled in the ISE program at VT. The following are the top five natural sciences and engineering occupations for women:
1. Biological scientist (16,010)2. Postsecondary teacher, Life science & related (7,310)3. Computer & Information scientist (5,280)4. Chemist (except biochem.) (3,420)5. Postsecondary teacher, Physical science & related (3,130)

I also found some additional information on women in the Industrial Engineering field from www.engineeringsalary.com This information does contradict the previous information and I thought it was important to mention both as we can view how different trends are analyzed.
“ Among engineering specialties, industrial, chemical and metallurgical engineers were the only occupations in which women were better represented than the overall percent of total women engineers. “

Patricia Daniel’s an engineer from Berkeley makes an important point when she was working as a TA in the ISE dept. that, “Women in engineering still have to be better than average. They’ll be watching for that first mistake.”
From this statement I realize that many women have been prevented directly and indirectly from society and gender formation which made it uncomfortable for them to think of entering a technical and man-dominated engineering field. Another aspect she pointed out that even if a woman gets an A- in a course she doesn’t think she knows enough while her male partner is flowing with confidence when he gets a C- in his course.

The following is some general data on women in the field of engineering and sciences which further highlights the fact that in engineering equality has not been achieved. (from Bayer)
“
Only 62,060 of the nation's 384,610 Ph.D. natural scientists and engineers are women, just 16% of the total. In no field of science or occupational category are there equal or greater numbers of women and men. Only 10% of natural scientist and engineer Ph.D.'s over 50 years old are women. 25% of the natural scientist and engineer Ph.D.'s 35 years old or under are women. 56% of the natural scientist and engineer Ph.D.'s who are women report having no children at home. More women hold Life and related sciences Ph.D.'s than other broad areas of natural science and engineering (66%). Fewer (4,450) women hold Engineering Ph.D.'s than other broad areas of natural science and engineering. Women Ph.D.'s in natural sciences & engineering fields receive an average of $8,000 to $12,000 less in salary than men in the same fields. Women Ph.D.'s in Engineering receive the highest average salary, $58,300. Women Ph.D.'s in Life science & related receive the lowest average salary, $44,000. Women constitute 39% of the students enrolled in graduate science and engineering programs. The numbers of women enrolled has been increasing steadily since 1980.”
I also came across that in 1996 11,316 women became engineers while 51,798 men became engineers. Women were 19 percent of total undergraduate enrollment in engineering programs in 1997, up from 15 percent a decade earlier. The Society Of Women Engineers says that in 2000 there were 159,440 male ISE’s compared to 31,380(16.6%) female ISE’s.




Part III: Action!

From my understanding of the textbook and my research online I have not found situation where there is inequality at the workplace. I think the most important aspect is about equal opportunities. I don’t think that in this age women in professional fields are treated unfairly and that their salaries have a big difference. The social constructs have created restrictions and biases which do not give equal opportunities to progress in the workplace. For example, suppose there was a project available to implement the ERP program (software) into the factory, statistics say that a man would be preferred for the job as the factory environment does not match a woman. There is also another case of bias against women. Statistics say that during an interview when a man negotiates a higher price, 34% of the times the company agrees. Generally women do not try to negotiate, but the ones who do have a success rate of 9%. In the previous case, the person (whether male or female) who takes the interview of the woman find her to be unprofessional.

The amount of women in Industrial engineering is increasing on a rapid pace and their position in the workplace is getting more diversified and stable. I think this change is not only based on the changing attitudes but also comes from the history of bias against women in the engineering field.
The preferred field in engineering is Computer and Electrical as it is the most in demand and it also yields the highest salary. Many women who are interested in financial research and a flexible work-option after graduation also consider ISE (can work part-time or from home).

Organizations making Contributions:
EngineeringGirl.Org – This website gives the basics and an introduction to engineering for women. They also have many advice tools prospective students can use to decide which courses or their field of interest. They also have a section which highlights the

Society of Women Engineers – It is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career aspect for women. They have local help situated in certain locations to advise prospective students.
Even though Title VII was created to remove gender as a criterion for a job, we will never really know why a person was rejected from a particular job. The only way to battle this is to continue to penetrate different segments which are male dominated to keep reducing the difference.

Changes:
Teachers should try to make their course-work relate to actual careers and to challenge students ideas about gender-appropriate careers. (from AAUW)
Schools should increase the number science classes taken by girls.
Certain science classes should be made compulsory until the completion of high school.


Sources:

http://blog.phds.org/2007/7/30/negotiating-equal-pay
http://blog.phds.org/women-in-science
http://www.iienet2.org/Default.aspx
http://www.swe.org/SWE/ProgDev/stat/earnbach_table.html
http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/forefront/fall02/women_p2.html
http://www.engineering.tufts.edu/wieo/collegewomen.htm
http://www.bayerus.com/msms/news/background.cfm?mode=detail&id=199804a

CRJ 3

Social construction of gender consists of adjectives intentionally placed to emphasize the notion of femininity and masculinity. These adjectives/attributes have been created social processes that reflect the various workings of power in society. These notions do change through history and different cultures. Lorber says that since gender is central in shaping our lives , much of what is gendered we do not recognize, and it is made normal and ordinary and occurs on a subconscious level. As an example the basic notions attached to femininity are passive, dependant, intuitive, emotional and masculinity are strong, independent, in control and out of touch emotionally.

First I will look at sexual violence associated with masculinity. Over time men have been associated with the machismo element, which revolves around potent sexuality and an affinity to sexual violence. We have heard about stories girlfriends and wives getting raped by their boyfriends and husbands. From the data I found on rape, over 25% of rape cases are by someone intimate. This can occur in a variety of situation. For example when in a relationship if the girlfriend refuses to cross a certain limit in the extent of sexual activities, this can cause a violent reaction from the boyfriend. There could be situation where the girl is made to submit to his wants. I also consider this sexual assault. In the case of marriage many men think that they own their wives and they have the right to have sex with them when they want. In case the wife refuses, there have been many incidents where the husband will beat the wife and she will eventually have to give in to his violent behavior. Rape by family members is also more than 25%. We all have varied sexual urges. In case of family members, they have no control over their urges and they feel they can dominate the victim. The reason they can so easily dominate the victim is because they know that for the victim to come out in the open is going to cause a lot of embarrassment and pain to the entire family. There are also cases when a man cannot persuade the girl into a relationship or a sexual encounter and anger builds up inside him. He feels that he has the right to take revenge against him being rejected and will rape that woman. These are some of the ways I feel that masculinity has been involved in sexual violence.

When I think about femininity I don’t think those attributes directly contribute to sexual violence. I think that sometimes the strength of masculinity actually forces upon or results in the attributes associated with femininity. Another statistic I would like to look at is that 60% of sexual assaults go unreported. This shows that our society does not welcome such victim and in fact looks down upon them instead of showing more concern.

In conclusion I would say that masculinity of the social constructs of gender have a direct effect on sexual violence. When a man associates the thoughts that to be real man he has to be dominating and in control (e.g of his wife) the chances of forced sexual assault increases. In few cases it can also happen that the woman chooses to be submissive as she thinks she has no way out.

These are the statistical facts I told my friends:
Every two and a half minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.
One in six American women are victims of sexual assault, and one in 33 men.
In 2004-2005, there were an average annual 200,780 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault.
About 44% of rape victims are under age 18, and 80% are under age 30.
Since 1993, rape/sexual assault has fallen by over 69%.
60% of cases are not reported.
About 44% of rape victims are under the age of 18
About 15% are under the age of 12
1 rape occurs every 8 minutes.
Verbal info on vaginal mutilation which takes place in tribes in Africa.
Reaction (male friends):
My friend was shocked with information especially with the amount of sexual assaults that take place. They were even shocked about the rape statistics. They don’t get to hear about such statistics in the media and the information was very revealing. One of my friends said that we need to questions ourselves as a community.
Even though one of my friends was from Kuwait he did not have any personal stories to share.
The reason he thinks violence against women takes place and more specifically sexual violence is because of lust, mental and psychological problems and the society.
He thinks that the government needs to step up and take drastic actions to reduce such occurrences. United and strong family values should spread amongst society. The family and society should create awareness in different groups. Parents should discuss these matters openly with children and make them feel comfortable to talk about a matter if something has happened. Schools should have classes informing students of the risks. Communities should be notified immediately if a registered sex offender is going to live close to their area.
Reaction (female friends):
Their initial reaction was sadness and that they hope it changes. Cher said that she hopes the class is not wasting time and looking at numbers but investing and practicing creative ways to change the number and help specific women.
Cher had a personal story to share about a close friend. Her friend was raped either by her father or her uncle at the age of 12. Now her relationship with guys is very casual. Sexual intimacy also comes very easily to her, and by this I mean she has multiple partners. She also has trouble getting close to boys and girls and she finds it difficult to build friendship. She is very suicidal and the surprising part is that she blames herself for it. She seems like a normal girl until you catch her on moody days.
Cher and Prachi felt that men should be the leaders in the relationship, but many times men use this too aggressively. They think that men should be submissive too and that being submissive should be equal. Women do not know how to be assertive. Families should be aware of aggressive personalities. People should be educated and men should create awareness and talk to buddies about respecting women. Also to create more opportunities within communities to reduce aggression.
My reactions:
I thought the reaction from my male friends was the standard thought process against violence to women. But I shocked with the reaction and story which Cher and Prachi shared. I felt good when they said that learning about a matter doesn’t stop there until you actually implement or take actions towards that. She is the first person I have spoken to someone who has a friend who’s sexually assaulted. The manner in which she told me the information made me really think about the long-lasting effects of violence. I had heard stories and read in papers that a high percentage of family members are involved in sexual assaults. This just makes me think that we cannot trust because of blood-relation but just leave it on character.