My humble opinion? STEM fields need women because women think differently. I know I think differently to my husband, but that's why we both (usually) come to a balanced decision after thrashing out ideas.
Why not in the workplace? Bright, creative men and bright, creative women will come up with different ideas, based on their experiences. Both sets of ideas are valid; just like quiet, thoughtful people have just as valid an idea as those who think out loud.
Beauty has little to do with it. Socio-economics may have an influence, depending on the perception of further and higher education (let's remember, we feed off the opinions of the adults we grow up with until we make a decision for ourselves).
If engineering firms want to continue to 'get it right' in the modern world, they need to find more opinions and take risks with unfamiliar trains of thought.
My humble opinion? STEM fields need women because women think differently. I know I think differently to my husband, but that's why we both (usually) come to a balanced decision after thrashing out ideas.
Why not in the workplace? Bright, creative men and bright, creative women will come up with different ideas, based on their experiences. Both sets of ideas are valid; just like quiet, thoughtful people have just as valid an idea as those who think out loud.
Beauty has little to do with it. Socio-economics may have an influence, depending on the perception of further and higher education (let's remember, we feed off the opinions of the adults we grow up with until we make a decision for ourselves).
If engineering firms want to continue to 'get it right' in the modern world, they need to find more opinions and take risks with unfamiliar trains of thought.