Statistics indicate a recognised under-representation of women in fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) (Russo and Brittain, 2014). At a bachelor level, engineering in particular is made up of 10 to 40 percent women – exact numbers depend on the engineering disciple and country (National Science Board, 2018).
In control engineering, women are under-represented in all stages of academia from a student- to faculty level (Annaswamy, 2020). Control engineering organisations are however aware of the under-representation in the field: the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) reported in its 2020 technical board report that only 10% of the IFAC technical board members were women; only slightly higher numbers were reported by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Control Systems Society (IFAC, 2020; Annaswamy, 2020). The numbers indicate that female students are not only less inclined to study control engineering, but are also less likely to pursue a career in academia after completing their studies (Annaswamy, 2020). As for the causes of this, gender-stereotypes are known to contribute to deterring women from stereotypically male dominated fields (Schuster and Martiny, 2017). STEM subjects are typically perceived to be more masculine which often discourages girls at a secondary level of education due to a conflict in their individual self-image (Makarova et al., 2019). Moreover, although TIMSS (2019) shows that there is no significant difference in gender performance in standardised mathematics and science tests at a secondary school level, girls tend to report lower self-efficacy (i.e., lower beliefs regarding their capabilities) in mathematics and
In control engineering, women are under-represented in all stages of academia from a student- to faculty level (Annaswamy, 2020). Control engineering organisations are however aware of the under-representation in the field: the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) reported in its 2020 technical board report that only 10% of the IFAC technical board members were women; only slightly higher numbers were reported by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Control Systems Society (IFAC, 2020; Annaswamy, 2020). The numbers indicate that female students are not only less inclined to study control engineering, but are also less likely to pursue a career in academia after completing their studies (Annaswamy, 2020). As for the causes of this, gender-stereotypes are known to contribute to deterring women from stereotypically male dominated fields (Schuster and Martiny, 2017). STEM subjects are typically perceived to be more masculine which often discourages girls at a secondary level of education due to a conflict in their individual self-image (Makarova et al., 2019). Moreover, although TIMSS (2019) shows that there is no significant difference in gender performance in standardised mathematics and science tests at a secondary school level, girls tend to report lower self-efficacy (i.e., lower beliefs regarding their capabilities) in mathematics and science compared to boys (Hand et al., 2017; Dubetz and Wilson, 2013).
The masculine perception of STEM is persistent and appears in children as early as 6-years-old, i.e., in kinder-garten age, before having even a basic understanding of STEM subjects (Makarova et al., 2019). Thus, late primary- to early secondary level education; before entering preparatory years for university studies; is considered to be the critical age group for fighting stereotypes to combat perceptions about science and engineering.
To address gender diversity in STEM, there is an evident international need for programs aimed at girls of a critical age to challenge perceived gender-stereotypes and provide hands-on experience in STEM subjects. These activities aim to encourage and motivate girls to consider studying STEM subjects at school, and eventually to consider pursuing a career in the field. McCullum (2014); Walden (2016) discuss a small selection of programs of this description. Many of the existing outreach programs expose girls to a wide range of STEM related problems to show girls that STEM is a rich and diverse field. Additionally, many of these programs are offered nationally but do not provide a platform for conducting the programs internationally.
Our personal experiences as control engineers and the desire to attract more women to study control engineering led to the development of Girls in Control (GiC). The GiC workshop targets 10-to-15-year-old girls and focuses on control engineering specific problems to demonstrate the diverse nature of control engineering. The aims of GiC are two-fold: to encourage girls to develop an interest and passion for science and mathematics through control engineering problems, and to encourage the girls to consider pursuing a career in STEM. Furthermore, the GiC workshop aims to remove language barriers and encourage international participation. The workshop mostly runs virtually in a range of languages to provide an educational experience for girls despite their language knowledge, or country of residence.
For more information on GiC and the references in the text above, please see our full paper “An Outline of the Story of Girls in Control and its Success in Motivating Girls Internationally” published in IFAC-PapersOnLine, Volume 54, Issue 13, 2021, Pages 381-386.