Young Women Exposed Actively to the Value of Biomedical Engineering

To bridge the gap between the biological sciences (typically female-dominated) and engineering (typically male-dominated), biomedical engineering (BME) activities could potentially be used as a vehicle to alter female students' perception of engineering as a whole. Female's pursuit of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) degrees is typically confined to the biological sciences and females earn a high proportion of degrees in nursing, psychology and the social sciences, yet male presence persists in physical sciences and engineering. Female's participation in engineering remains much lower than men at all degree levels. Here, research questions included do female high school students: 1) perceive engineering as relevant? 2) have an interest & aptitude towards exploring engineering in college and as a career? 3) have anxiety in terms of engineering? 4) have engineering "role-confidence"? Participants, a randomly selected pool of 28 high school students (almost exclusively female from schools throughout the DC Metro area) took part in a week-long, all-day workshop where they were exposed to female engineering mentors, peers, and activities tied to BME & Engineering. Pre and post surveys, adapted from standard STEM surveys, were administered to the pool of participants. Increases in confidence and interest in engineering and decreased anxiety were observed following female high school students' participation in hands-on activities in BME.