If engineering doesn't make welcome space for them and embrace them for their wonderful qualities, then engineering will become marginalized as other fields expand their turf to seek out and make a place for women. Women are a major force in our society. They are self-conscious about their role and determined to be heard. Women are 50 percent of the consumers of products in our society and make over 50 percent of the purchasing decisions. To both men and women today, a profession that does not have a significant percentage of women is not an attractive career choice.
Women are integrators.
They are experts at parallel processing, at handling many things at once. Women are comfortable in fuzzy situations. Women are team builders. They inherently practice what is now understood as an effective management style. Engineering should be and could be the twenty-first century foundation for all of the professions.