One-on-One
Introducing Girls to Engineering
By Lango Deen
Jun 11, 2004, 11:29

US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine's January/February 2004 Diversity Issue carried an historic feature, "Women Are Taking the Helm at Engineering Associations," in which five notable female engineers were interviewed: Susan Skemp, past president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; LeEarl Bryant, the first woman president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE-USA; Teresa Helmlinger, president of the National Society of Professional Engineers; Dianne Dorland, president of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers; and Pat Galloway, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

USBE Online now talks to Sylvia Wilson-Thomas, a Howard University electrical engineering Ph.D. and a motivational speaker/consultant for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, continued/graduate education, K–12 efforts, career transitioning, mentoring and professional development. In March 2004, Wilson-Thomas represented EWeek and the IEEE at a United Nations-NGO briefing on "Girls and Technology: New Educational Opportunities," reporting on "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day" and other STEM programs to promote education for girls and career opportunities for women.

Dr. Thomas holds two patents in microelectronics processing and is involved in various organizations, serving as chair of the Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies, cochair of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE-USA) Workforce and Career Policy committee, NSBE, NACME, National Association of Minority Engineering Program Administrators, IEEE Women in Engineering and the Society of Women Engineers. She is a former chair of the American Association of Engineering Societies' Engineering Workforce Commission, and cochair of the IEEE-USA Workforce and Career Policy Committee.

USBE: With women leading the engineering associations, would you say there a lot more women now than ever before?
Wilson-Thomas: We are very enthusiastic about the profession embracing more women and applaud the efforts. But as the statistics show, there is still a need to encourage young women to pursue technical careers and contribute to the technical arena. The great thing is women do bring vibrant creativity, organizational skills, professionalism, and much more, when part of any organization.

USBE: An estimated one million girls have been involved in the fourth annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day. How do you continue the outreach program throughout the year?
Wilson-Thomas: There are several programs and initiatives that offer active involvement for girls and boys across the United States, and some international programs. Specifically for "Girl Day," women and men engineers provide mentoring and guidance to young girls continually. Girl Day is not costly and involves volunteer mentors, both male and female.... Girl Day is a model that can be used by organizations to start outreach programs for girls globally. National Engineers Week office will provide materials to help build these type programs.
Other organizations that have year-round programs include NSBE, SWE, IEEE, and other technical societies that offer pre-college initiative programs.... We have to put a different spin on engineering and technical studies by informing the youth of today that studying technical fields develops critical thinking skills, analytical processing skills, innovative and creativity skills, and much more that can be used in any endeavor, whether it be medicine, law, engineering, information technology, teaching, you name it. The key is obtaining and strengthening these skills to be applied to making a difference in the various career fields.

USBE: Why did Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day go international this year?
Wilson-Thomas: IEEE  and WIE [Women in Engineering] implemented International EWeek in developing countries in 2004, and part of this implementation included Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day — Girl Day. The impact was so great in rural India that WIE was featured in the news in India for its efforts. Why? Not only do we want to make a difference in the lives of U.S. girls but in the lives of girls across the globe.... Opportunity and motive are the key factors. We want to create different opportunities for girls and young women in developing countries and motivate them and their families to experience engineering, science, and technology. We know there are several obstacles such as poverty, finances, cultural traditions, and others that play a role in exposing girls to these technical opportunities, but what we hope to do is to change the mindset of the girls and their families.... WIE has had phenomenal membership growth, with an increase of 9,000 women world-wide in three years.... Interestingly enough, some of the first areas to express interest in forming WIE Affinity Groups were in the Middle East.

USBE: What are some of the workplace issues with particular focus on women in engineering?
Wilson-Thomas: If we look at some of the workplace issues, women are becoming more involved on the technical management level and somewhat on the grassroots level, in terms of getting involved in some of the innovations being made and some of the technology advancement.... In terms of the issues...we have to increase [the number of girls who] are coming through the pipeline so we can get more into the technical arena, so we will have that talent available, so we can participate in the board room.... Women only making up that 24 percent of the engineering, science, and technology arena [Women are 46 percent of the U.S. work force and 48.6 percent of the total college-degreed work force.]. We do want that number to be larger.

USBE: How do you see the campaign shaping up in the future?
Wilson-Thomas: I think the effort is very important not only to this nation but to other countries in terms of the innovation, the global competitiveness, and the creativity, going forth into the future, to make better lives for everyone. The program is set up as a model for girls and boys, and in that light it can be taken anywhere and placed in any type of environment, and people can derive benefits from it.