Women in Engineering, Do They Have Problems?
Women in Engineering, Does it Matter?
Burhanudin Yusup, Mila Irawati, Tomy Lovendo, Elly Malihah, Ade Gafar Abdullah and Cep Ubad
Abdullah
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia
Keywords: Engineering, Women, Gender, Patriarchy and Learning Outcomes.
Abstract: Department of Engineering in universities generally make me as an icon, so that such a major is predominantly
filled by male students. However, nowadays women also contribute a lot in choosing this department as a
choice of purpose in life. Thus, the stereotype about this department still needs to be questioned since this
becomes a problem for women who enter the world of engineering. This study used a quantitative comparison
approach using t-test as its data analysis. The research used questionnaires with likert scale consisting of 29
questions. The results showed that there is a negative comparison of academic results of the Department of
Engineering between male and female students; women are still under men in the achievement of academic
results in the Department of Technical college, because the patriarchal culture inherent in this department is
still embedded so that women do not really participate in learning in this department. It is also supported by
the treatment of lecturers who tend to give full trust to men rather than women.
1 INTRODUCTION
Majors related to techniques in college are generally
well known as majors of men, so that it is believed the
majors are difficult for women since they are assumed
not to get used to doing heavy works just like in those
majors. However, in college there are engineering
majors where many women now take part in that field
as their choice, in line with Fox's notion that the
participation and status of women faculty is also a
pressing, national issue for reasons of social equity
(or inequity) in access to, and rewards gained in,
science and engineering (2010, p. 998). The closer to
the nuts, bolts and plasters, the more masculine and
the male culture as far away from the nut. Bolts and
plaster are women's cultures (Faulkner, 2007, p. 339).
Women are disadvantaged in the informal
environment of their academic institutions,
techniques have been regarded as male domains
(Gupta, 2007, p. 508). In fact, many women are in the
Engineering world but there are differences in access
facilities between women and men, so that it will
affect their performance in the field of engineering.
The engineering world is known as a masculine
job where technique is seen as a job that requires
muscle power and skill qualified. Unfortunately, men
feel superior in work compared to women who feel
vulnerable. Increasing women's representation in the
technical world requires a more advanced
heterogeneous version (Faulkner, 2007, p. 331).
According to Seymour and Hewitt (1997) there is a
perception among women that balancing families and
careers in science is more difficult than other career
fields, which can influence women's decisions to
enter and survive in science engineering / SE (Camp,
Gilleland, Perason and Putten, 2009, p. 367). There is
a general perception that the mental form of women
becomes small in this regard, so the performance of
women in the Technique should be questioned, this
needs to be studied in this study to see the comparison
of performance of women and men in engineering
majors in college. This research not only focuses on
heavy work in Engineering, but in the academic world
also needs to be examined the difference.
Gender is often identified with sex, whereas
gender is different from sex. Gender is often also
understood as a gift from a divine god or divinity,
whereas gender is not solely the case. Etymologically,
the word 'gender' comes from English meaning 'sex'
(Echols and Shadily, 1983 - 265). The word 'Gender'
522
Yusup, B., Irawati, M., Lovendo, T., Malihah, E., Abdullah, A. and Abdullah, C.
Women in Engineering, Do They Have Problems? Women in Engineering, Does it Matter?.
In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education (ICSE 2017) - Volume 2, pages 522-525
ISBN: 978-989-758-316-2
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

can be defined as the apparent differences between
men and women in terms of values and behavior
(Neufeldt 1984: 561).
In terminological point of view, 'gender' is defined
as cultural expectations of men and women (Lips
1993: 4). Another definition of gender is put forward
by Elaine Show alter. According to her, 'gender' is the
distinction between men and women seen from socio-
cultural constructs (Showalter (ed.), 1989: 3) Gender
can also serve as a concept of analysis that can be
used to explain something (Umar, 1999: 34). More
emphatically mentioned in the Women's Studies
Encyclopedia that gender is a cultural concept used to
distinguish the roles, behaviors, mentalities and
emotional characteristics between men and women
who develop in society (Mulia, 2004: 4).
From some of the above definitions it can be
understood that gender is a trait which is used as a
basis for identifying differences between men and
women in terms of social and cultural conditions,
values and behaviors, mentality, and emotions, as
well as other non-biological factors. Gender is
different from sex, although it is entomologically the
same as sex (Echols and Shadily, 1983: 517). In
general, sex is used to identify the differences
between men and women in terms of biological
anatomy, while gender concentrates more on social,
cultural, and other nonbiological aspects. If the study
of sex is more emphasis on the development of
biological aspects and chemical composition in the
body of a man and a woman, then gender studies
emphasize the development of aspects of masculinity
and femininity of a person.
Gender has an important position in one's life and
can determine the life experience that it will take.
Gender can determine one's access to education, the
world of work and other public sectors. Gender also
determines the health, life expectancy and freedom of
movement of a person. Clearly, gender will determine
the sexuality, relationships and abilities of a person to
make decisions and act autonomously. Finally, it is
the gender that determines what a person will
become.
Based on the data and background above, this
research will identify the problems that occur on the
status and role of women as students in engineering
majors. This research tries to answer the question
about how big the patriarchal culture in the
engineering students, the difference of lecturer's
treatment at the time of practicum activity of the
students and the comparison of the result of the man
and woman learning on the engineering student.
2 METHOD
This study uses a quantitative comparison approach,
the comparison between women and men in
achieving learning outcomes in engineering majors in
college. The study was conducted in one of the
universities in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. The
student population in the Department of Engineering
is known to be 178 persons, the samples used are
probability sampling, giving equal opportunity to all
members of the population to be members of the
sample, with simple random sampling, the samples
taken randomly regardless of the strata present in the
population, the sample calculation was obtained for
52 students, 29 men and 23 women (see in Table 1).
Table 1: Sample.
Men
Women
Total
Alumni
4
2
6
Class of 2014
7
3
10
Class of 2015
10
12
22
Class of 2016
8
6
14
Total
29
23
52
Research data obtained by using questionnaire as
many as 30 questions, but on the calculation of the
validity of one question is not valid so the matter
becomes 29 questions. Problems developed based on
the limits of the issues rose from the three indicators
of research, as follows the Table 2:
Table 2: Research instruments.
Indicator
Scope of Problem
Item
Question
Patriarchal
Culture
Engineering students are
generally dominated by men
1-10
Stereotypes on the female
Engineering students as the
meek
Technique is a Department
that many men interested in
because many use of energy
Differences
in
Lecturer's
Treatment
Assumption of lecturers,
men are more capable in
practice than women
11-20
Lecturers always entrust
fully the responsibility of
engineering equipment to
men
Lecturers instruct women to
follow men's activities
Learning
Outcomes
Result of Grade Point
Average (GPA)
21-29
Women in Engineering, Do They Have Problems? Women in Engineering, Does it Matter?
523

Achievements during
lectures
Practical ability
The questionnaire was developed based on the
above instrument, using the likert scale 1-4: 1: very
appropriate, 2: appropriate, 3: inappropriate, and 4:
very unsuitable. This scale aims to compare the scores
of male and female responses. The results of this
score in the analysis with inferential statistical
calculation technique through the analysis of
hypothesis comparative parametric test with the type
of data two independent samples so that the
calculation using independent sample T-test
technique. T-test is a statistical calculation to
compare differences in learning outcomes obtained
between men and women in students majoring in
Engineering in college. After the coding process,
validity and reliability test, the comparison will be
obtained in the final result with the independent
sample T-test. The result will answer this hypothesis:
Ho: There is no comparison of learning outcomes
between men and women in the Department of
Engineering in college.
H1: There is a comparison of learning outcomes
between men and women at the Department of
Engineering in college.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Results
Data obtained in this study indicate that there is a
comparison of learning outcomes between men and
women, significant value 0.01 <0.05, so the data are
not homogeneous. The value of t arithmetic -1.56 at
df 50. Df on t test is N-2 that is in this case 52-2 = 50.
The value of t arithmetic compared with t table at df
50 and probability 0.05 that is equal to 1.67. Thus, the
value of t arithmetic -1.56 <1.67 (t table), then the
value of t arithmetic negative, there is a significant
comparison of the results of female and male students
study in engineering majors. Sig (2 tailed) or p value
of 0.01 <0.05, since <0.05 then H1 is accepted so the
ratio is statistically significant in probability 0.05.
The results of this comparison can be seen from
the mean value of these two groups of different means
that is -7.1, because the value is negative, then means
men have a lower average than women. Men have an
average of 70.30 while women are 63.20.
Comparison of learning outcomes between men
and women in the Department of Engineering is not
so visible, because the comparison of learning results
is thin. Thus, in this case, men remain superior
compared to women in the world of engineering in
college. Students feel that there are differences of
treatment and always compare between men and
women in the performance of learning results of
engineering in their majors, as in this graph, it
explains the answers that support the three indicators
of this study:
Figure 1: Comparison of learning outcomes of female and
male students in engineering majors.
From Figure 1, it can be seen that there are indeed
differences between men and women in the world of
engineering.
3.2 Discussion
Patriarchal culture found in the Department of
Engineering College has been felt by both students.
Not only men but also women, this can be seen in the
diagram, which both have an opinion that almost
equal the percentage, this is one of the causes of
comparison that makes women lower in value in the
practice of engineering science, because the culture of
patriarchy is still embedded for the students
themselves. Men assume that women in the
engineering department will not succeed (Carli 2016:
8). The social assumption of women has inferior
intelligence compared with men, so women are still
considered inferior to men (Mary 2007, p 29)
Differences in perceived treatment are still felt by
both men are more privileged to cultivate, control and
reign in learning in engineering majors, a common
perception which states that the meek woman who
makes her considered powerless when confronted by
machines identical with majoring in Engineering.
When speaking of gender identity in engineering
majors, women tend to experience gender attacks that
result in feelings that do not feel competent and lack
of self-acceptance (Hall 2015, pp. 531). Women have
decreased motivation due to gender stereotyped
views in engineering majors (Deemer 2015, p.44).
Women rarely choose engineering majors because
women assume that technique is the arena of men, at
least female role models in engineering, the view of
53%
53%
56%
47%
47%
44%
0
20
40
60
Patriarchal
Culture
Differences
Treatment
Academic Results
Men Women
ICSE 2017 - 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education
524

male chauvinism, and the lack of information women
receive about engineering majors (Baryeh 200,
p.180).
The academic results obtained by the Engineering
students are more prominently displayed by men than
women, so this is the problem of women in the world
of Engineering, especially in college.
A program is needed to narrow the gap on gender
issues in engineering (Fox 2011, p.603).
Differences in environmental opportunities can
be seen from lecturers, curriculum and others can
clarify the Gap between men and women in
engineering majors.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Female students in engineering departments still lack
full participation in taking over activities within their
majors, because there is still a patriarchal culture and
also the differing treatment of lecturers in comparing
women and men in performance that will affect their
academic outcomes. Women are still far from having
best achievements in the world of engineering, while
men have a wide opportunity for the full trust of
lecturers in the responsibility of learning engineering
in the majors.
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