14 percent.

That is the approximate percentage of women who make up the engineering workforce in the United States. With just over half the U.S. population being composed of females, this statistic demonstrates the vast under-representation we see common throughout many STEM studies and careers.

As a student worker in my university’s college of engineering library, I see day after day the imbalanced representation of men versus women. Unfortunate, yet not shocking if we observe statistics seen in higher education institutions:

Males make up 83 percent of engineering and technology, and computer science majors. Of all the engineering and computer/information science bachelor degrees awarded by the U.S. Department of Education in 2014, 81.7 percent of those were to men, leaving a mere 18.3 percent to women. This number is not necessarily growing either. The proportion of women pursuing engineering has remained virtually static since 2012. It is not necessarily that women are not getting accepted into programs either -- they simply are not applying. A statistic from the UK shows that of the 32,026 engineering applications that came in, less than 13 percent of them were women.

Sitting in the engineering library, though less than thrilling, often provokes questions regarding gender. I find myself being momentarily surprised when a female comes in the space, clearly standing out from the male population around her. During work one day I was having a conversation with a female student. She asked me, “Do you ever play the girl counting game?” The girl counting game? She proceeded to explain that she plays this all of the time, easily identifying any other females with a quick scan of the room. What she said next took me back even more so. “There are actually times I feel out of place at a family party with all girls.” Conditioned to be surrounded by men in her school environment, this Temple student actually felt notably strange in an environment that put her in the presence of numerous females.

A recent female mechanical engineering graduate from Villanova University also weighed in on the subject. I will refer to her as Sasha. She specifically asked for her name to remain anonymous in this article due to the possibility of comments on gender challenges negatively affecting her current job and/or future jobs. That statement alone has the power to speak for itself. “For most of engineering classes, it was probably at 2:1 or 3:1 ratio [men:women], depending upon if it was required or an elective.” In terms of female teachers, “I only ever had two female engineering professors during my entire collegiate career, including engineering lab professors.” She estimates Villanova’s female mechanical engineering professor total to be around 10 percent.

The stigma of social sciences and humanitarian roles being the normal career path for females is one that greatly influences the numbers of women interested in the field. Many women “think in terms of the bigger picture -- meaning that they are less likely to gravitate towards jobs that are high in stress or require working a lot of hours because they know they want a family.” Sasha states. She goes on to say that this idea of needing to settle down is dissipating, though slowly. However, women who enter college intending to pursue engineering degrees are much more likely to switch out than their male counterparts. The “perfectionist” mindset that many women possess contributes to this downfall. Female Temple engineering student states, “Women are more externally driven. If they don’t have straight A’s, they don’t think they’re doing a good enough job.” Even still, new research shows that women who endure the schooling and receive engineering degrees are likely to leave, if not never enter, the field. As many as 40 percent of female engineers will either quit the profession or never begin after graduation.

Gender specific stereotypes often proliferate in the workforce and Villanova graduate, Sasha, can attest.

“I think the biggest challenge is being taken seriously as engineer. For example, when I was invited to attend my first client meeting at my current job, the clients immediately assumed I was the secretary and asked me to get them a coffee. It was mildly humiliating to explain that no, I was not someone’s assistant and that I would actually be one of the engineers presenting for them that day.”

Another issue she touches on is the tendency of her superior colleagues to hesitate administering constructive criticism in an effort to not hurt her feelings. In reality, this only serves as a detriment to one’s career. Everyone deserves to have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.

Former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, says, “There is plenty of room in the world for mediocre men, but there is no room for mediocre women. You have to work. You have to work exceptionally hard, and you have to know what you’re talking about.”

A powerful quote, yet according to Sasha we must take it with a grain of salt. “I think the word “mediocre” is very subjective. Is it based purely on how much money you make, or perceived success? Does it have to do with your character or family values? So what exactly does “mediocre in society” mean? I can’t tell you because there is no concrete answer, which is why I think the quote is sort of stupid.”

Nonetheless, the statistics that show the lack of women in the engineering field are alarming and a problem deserving of substantial thought. To tackle such an issue, the root causes - negative pre-conditioning and stereotypes - are at the forefront of things needing to be addressed.

Madeleine Albright leaves us with words she hopes fuel the fire of higher standards for women (and in this case greater participation in STEM majors/careers):