Despite making up more than half of the total University of Wisconsin student body, only a quarter of current College of Engineering students are female and just 15% are people of color.
The result? Inherent sexism, according to one female nuclear engineering and physics student, who asked to remain anonymous in a conversation with The Badger Herald.
“People talk to you differently and listen to what you have to say very differently from how they listen to another man,” she told the student-run paper.
Like Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke, this student is one of just eight women currently majoring in nuclear engineering at the UW-Madison. Other specialties, like civil and environmental engineering, have a better male-to-female ratio of 60 to 40.
Still, a study by the American Society for Engineering Education found that mental wellness among engineers is particularly low due to the rigor of work, high expectations, and gender inequality.
What’s the solution?
University of Wisconsin Department of Engineering professor Paul Wilson is working with students to address their concerns—and he’s also introducing a new first-year course for all incoming nuclear engineering students which is intended to build community from the start.
“We think that will create a healthier community for all people, particularly students who are typically underrepresented in engineering,” Wilson told The Badger Herald.
The UW-Madison is also working to hire more female professors overall, but especially in the College of Engineering.
