I have recently visited university campuses where that is still going on. 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. So let me give you Sheila Widnall's top ten reasons why women are important to the profession of engineering. Women are a major force in our society. They are self conscious about their role and determined to be heard.
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. Women are a major force in the professions of law, medicine, the media, politics and business.