For the first time engineering course in the US so more women than men

The University of Dartmouth made history in a country where only 19% of the area of the diplomas are handed out to women



Brazil, 1957. Evelyna Bloem Souto is the only woman student in the first class engineering USP São Carlos. At the time, the medium was so macho that Evelyna was prohibited from entering construction sites - unless, rather, to dress in men's clothes, arrest the hair and paint a beard and a mustache on his face.

rough cut, change of scenery: 2016, at the University of Dartmouth, USA. Among the engineering course graduates this year, 54% are women - a major renovation since the chauvinistic probation Evelyna, almost 60 years ago. It may sound crazy, but it's the first time the number of students exceeds that of students in an engineering course in the United States - a country where, on average, only 19% of qualifications in the area go to women.

Although delayed, increasing the number of students in Dartmouth was relatively fast. 10 years ago, only 20% of students were women, and in 2015, this proportion almost doubled to 37%. For the rectory of the university, the change began when more teachers were hired to teach in areas that are generally dominated by men, such as mechanical and electrical engineering. The strategy makes sense: more teachers acting as role models, the incentive for students is higher - is called representation implemented.

And believe it works - the students are even encouraged. Among the projects that the new engineers Dartmouth created in their course conclusion work, had innovative ideas as a device for filtering and transport water in sub-Saharan countries, a valve that helps control hydrocephalus and even an office chair that helps person to exercise while working.

In Brazil, the situation of women in engineering has improved since the grotesque scenario Evelyna - but the thing remains uneven: among freshmen civil engineering at USP São Carlos in 2014, they represent 36% of the students. And among those approved at the Polytechnic School of USP in 2009, 92.7% were men and only 6.3% women. In other words, we still have a lot to do so that equality is achieved - and perhaps our universities can be reflected in the solution found by Dartmouth to change the ending of this movie.