By Ellen Bernstein Enrollment in engineering, computer classes slow as women return to traditional roles, educators say. Recent minority gains run counter to an overall slowdown of women pursuing nontraditional careers, educators say.
Hispanic women are late-comers to the women's movement, says a university professor.
High schools must encourage female students to take more advanced math and science classes, college educators say. Elaine Guerrera says she lacks role models in her chosen field of engineering. Recent minority gains, educators say, run counter to an overall slowdown in the numbers of women pursuing nontraditional occupations. Today, women earn 55 percent of all bachelor's degrees but only 16.5 percent of engineering degrees and 18 percent of physics degrees. Women received only 29 percent of the undergraduate degrees in computer science in 1994, down from 37 percent in 1985.