IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2019 - 26

Our Story

To a certain extent, the members of
rate effectively with male colleagues.
our study group admitted that this enviThey confided that, in their university
ronment, in which they significantly
courses, female students outnumbered
outnumber the male engineers, is ideal,
males, except for a few electrical engithough it has its own inherent limitaneering classes. According to statistics
tions. Most of the electrical and
from Malaysia's Ministry of Highelectronic female engineers
er Education, in 2016, pubsaid they find it advantalic university enrollment
We noticed
geous to share male perfor S T E M -rel at e d
spectives, although
bachelor's degrees
that, with little
they were unable to
totaled 153,255, of
experience behind
which 57% were
explain the difference
them, the engineers were
for women, with
between male and
enthusiastic in joining
34,873 candidates
female viewpoints
a discussion and being
g r a du at i n g , of
in engineering.
whom 58.3% were
Whether they conpart of a cooperative
women. Except for
sider
male engineergroup.
engineering, where
ing perspectives to be
women are 47.9% of the
superior to female ones
student population, females
was an observation we were
outnumbered males in the other
unable to make directly because
three STEM areas (science, 74.7%; techthe women were unable to clearly articunology, 60.1%; and mathematics, 76.9%).
late their views. The computer engineers
Of a 53.6% enrollment of men in public
reflected that providing more male engiuniversities for an engineering degree,
neers might change their interactions
22.3% graduated, and out of a 46.3%
but firmly added that knowledge and
enrollment of women, 23.8% received a
skills are individual achievements not
degree. According to the U.N. Educationlinked to gender.
al, Scientific, and Cultural Organization,
Our engineers understood the priat the bachelor's degree level, women
mary cornerstone of collaborative efforts
have outperformed men since the 1990s,
to be sharing ideas, skills, and knowlyet not in STEM fields.
edge. Remarkably, their undergraduate programs promoted collective work
and encouraged them, through group
enterprise, to cooperate, and their collaborative efforts have become truly
meaningful in the institute environment. They are able to create their own
set of human interactions and engineering practices, and their successes (a
working prototype or a smoothly running code) are stories of building selfconfidence and self-esteem.
We noticed that, with little experience
behind them, the engineers were enthusiastic in joining a discussion and being part
of a cooperative group. However, "leaning
in" and "sitting at the table" were seemingly a strain, even though, within their
milieu, they are unpredictably dynamic
in their approaches and practices. The
ecosystem of the Imagineering Institute
is both local and global, providing the
young women with the opportunity to
understand and experience work in several
Electrical/electronics engineers at their workstations.

"What I can do for a project and what
the project can do for the lab: that is
how I collaborate," said one of the engineers, describing her understanding and
practice of collaboration.
The engineers' perception of collaboration essentially relates to the virtues
that imbue the workplace. They possess
a clear comprehension of the morality of
collective effort. Collectives that collaborate pose a variety of challenges for them,
yet they recognize the opportunities that
collaborative efforts offer. Although their
understanding of the different nuances
of collaboration is intellectual and philosophical, they experience and comprehend its value and potential. Functioning
as a group aiming at common goals gives
them a sense of belonging and achievement that is psychologically fulfilling.
They find collaborative working environments to be efficient and risk mitigating
because each group member contributes
toward the end result.
To the question of whether they find
collective work manageable because
they are all women, to some extent they
understand that their collaborations are
supported by commonalities that are
more than engineering. However, they
are confident of their ability to collabo-

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

JUNE 2019

IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2019

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