Future resources for engineering

The accelerated rate ot growth of technology has increased the demand for engineers of all types. Predicted shortages of engineers may be lessened by drawing from every available source. One large and overlooked source is women. The purpose of this paper is to hypothesize reasons for the underrepresentation of women in engineering and search for beginnings of solutions to recruiting and retaining women in engineering. Factors that influence a young woman's career choice, such as parental influence, classroom climate, role models, and genderbiased literature, are explored. These influencing factors, many of them subtle, begin having an impact very early in a woman's life and continue through college and possibly throughout a woman's career. Solutions and recommendations for encouraging women to pursue engineering careers are presented. Although the recommendations are far from a complete solution, they are important initial steps toward maintaining a healthy and productive engineering community.