State of Women in Civil Engineering in the United States and the Role of ASCE

Abstract

The need for civil engineers is growing rapidly. Highly complex, global problems require a diverse pool of engineers with a variety of skills, views, and leadership styles. Although the job market for civil engineers is predicted to grow substantially over the next decade, women currently comprise a small percentage of the civil engineering workforce and the percentage of women graduating from undergraduate civil engineering programs across the US has stagnated. In this paper, recent data are presented to provide a current, overall picture of the national presence of women in civil engineering. The data showed that, overall, ASCE membership is reflective of the national percentages of women in B.S. civil engineering (CE) programs and in CE practice. However, ASCE senior membership, including the rank of Fellow, has very few women and is not reflective of the percentage of women in the society. Recommendations are provided for the role of ASCE as a champion in the effort to increase the percentage and standing of women in ASCE and, thereby, in the CE profession.