Female graduates at the University of Sydney's Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies are reaching record numbers, mid-year figures have revealed.
According to Dr Tim Wilkinson, Associate Dean (Education), the faculty has experienced a steady increase in the number of female students enrolling and graduating from its many disciplines.
Alarmingly, however, while 20 percent of engineering graduates are now females, only 10.5 percent of practising engineers are women. This is despite the continuing efforts of academic institutions and employer interventions to address the gender gap.
Professor Archie Johnston, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, said the faculty encourages all female high school students to consider the exciting range of engineering and IT careers that are on offer.
He said while the numbers are increasing and are encouraging there is no time to be complacent.
"We still need to focus on increasing the number of school students taking higher levels of mathematics and sciences to underpin growth in all of the engineering qualifications. And every effort must be continued further lift the rates of women enrolling in engineering and IT undergraduate programs at Australian universities," he concluded.