Engineering Culture Shock

The Canadian Federation of Engineering Students (CFES) Congress, held in the beginning of January, was an eye opening experience for me. Congress is a week long conference where student leaders from across Canada come together to listen to industry specialists, participate in student run information sessions and, most importantly, share and discuss ideas with fellow delegates. Many of the people attending Congress are leaders in the engineering student unions and are no doubt going to be leaders when they enter the workforce. This thought is the source of much hope for a prosperous future but also one of very serious concern.

Out of the 156 delegates listed in the delegate package I received, I identified 55 of them as female. A significant minority at 35%, but well over the national average of females in engineering; which has hovered around 20% for over 10 years. For the most part, I observed mutual respect between all delegates. Rarely did I hear a rude or obscene remark and when I did, it was without content. I was taken by surprise during the evening events, especially ones that involved travelling by bus. This was my first introduction to the plethora of lewd songs that are apparently common place. Now, I don’t find anything wrong with lyrics that are gross or crude, what I do find repugnant are the songs that are sexist and demeaning towards women. I don’t think songs that include lyrics such as “A women came in for a bowling ball… a bowling ball she wanted, fingered and tossed into the gutter she got!” really belongs anywhere in society, especially not in the professional atmosphere of an engineering conference. I believe lyrics like this harbour an attitude and atmosphere of disrespect towards women and only hurt the efforts to encourage more women to pursue engineering.

Unfortunately, the chauvinistic songs were not the only instance of sexism at the conference. I met a very well-spoken and thought provoking woman, who I will leave nameless. I invited her to have a conversation about the unsettling things I witnessed at the conference and to also discuss other situations we’d experienced both on campus and in the workplace. After we parted ways to get ready for the evening banquet I received the following text message “I kid you not. As soon as I walked in my room, a bunch of guys [started] singing (to me) ‘Tits out for the boys. Tits out for the boys, say what?’ Over and over. Until I left.”

This type of harassment does not only happen in academic settings. I have heard accounts from my classmates about lewd remarks from supervisors and co-workers, contempt and incivilities based purely on their gender. I have witnessed a table of grown men — engineers, supervisors, executives — objectify women and casually make misogynistic jokes. They specifically commented on how they wouldn’t be making these jokes if other women were there. These men knew what they were saying was wrong, but for whatever reason they felt justified in their actions. I am embarrassed to be working towards a profession where such actions are not only tolerated, but encouraged.

Engineering has a long and rooted culture of disrespect for women. You can see it in our songs, you can see it in our students, you can see it in the workplace. Engineering has slowly progressing towards equality, but it is our job as future engineers to ensure that we continue to grow. Our words and actions shape the environment we all live in. I want to be part of a culture of acceptance and equality. What about you?