News & Events

As golden leaves fall outside the university classroom window, an engineering class meets. Most of the students are men, a demographic in engineering classrooms that mirrors the working world. For women, the male-dominated field of engineering is a daunting reality.

"Many young women feel a lack of confidence to enter a field that is dominated by men," said Pat Blount, a Moscow High School physics teacher.

The University of Idaho's Women in Engineering Day is designed to break down social barriers and empower future women engineers.

"Women in Engineering Day gives young women engineers the chance to see problem-solving in an all female environment and to give them the confidence they need to pursue a career in engineering," said Blount.

Brittany Ballard, an engineering student at the University of Idaho, is a volunteer for this year's event. "Because of the interactions I had with the engineering students and faculty on Women in Engineering Day, that was the day that I decided that I wanted to be an engineer," she said.

Cultural differences challenge Hieu Truong, a high school exchange student from Vietnam. Hieu said her parents don't encourage her pursuit of engineering. "They think that it is not good for me if I do science, technology or engineering because I am female," said Hieu.

Though her parents don't support her, Hieu said she is confident in her abilities and wants to pursue her dream. "Women in Engineering Day comes to me as a fortune and encourages my desire," Hieu said.

"I rarely find a student who has the necessary information to make an informed decision for post high school plans," said Antonia Fairchild, a teacher at Priest River Lamanna High School.

The University of Idaho provides engineering opportunities that young women from smaller towns normally don't have, said Becky Gibson, university engineering program coordinator.

Women in Engineering Day includes a panel discussion with engineers and engineering lab tours. The panel consists of two faculty members, two professional engineers and four university engineering students

"Women in Engineering Day gives us a chance to show girls two things," said Jessica Smith, a university engineering student and Engineering Day panelist. "First, all the different opportunities that engineering provides, and second, that these women are not alone. This has an enormous positive influence on girls because it widens their horizons, and lets them see that you can 'have it all.'"