What It Means to be a Woman in Engineering

By: Nataly Medina, Cybernetics Electronics Engineering Academic Coordinator, CETYS University-Tijuana

It’s been 50 years since humans first stepped on the moon. It took bravery, tenacity and ingenuity to push the limits of scientific achievement at the time. Looking back, I can’t help but think of the women who supported the mission, whose names we didn’t know at the time, that were quietly blazing another trail for women in engineering and STEM today.

My path to the field started before I realized what engineering was. I was just a young girl taking my toys apart so I could figure out how they worked and building things out of Legos and whatever materials I could find.

As I got older, it became clear to me that engineering was my passion. In high school, I studied business administration, but I was always drawn back to science. I saw it as a way that I could help my community.

Years later, I’m proud to be a professor at CETYS University where I teach computational neuroscience and am pursuing my Ph.D. I’ve combined my desire to help people with my aptitude for problem solving, as well as mentoring younger generations.

Getting here hasn’t been easy. As a woman in a STEM field, my path has been filled with roadblocks. My parents, who are both engineers, knew the challenges I would face and initially discouraged me from studying engineering. They warned me that the community wouldn’t welcome me because of my gender. They wanted to protect me and I’m grateful for how much they cared, but I knew I could prove them wrong.

At CETYS, I was the only woman in my entire graduating class. While this presented challenges, my classmates respected me and I appreciated their support. Years later, I’m still in the field and am researching the relationship between mental fatigue and prolonged digital engagement. I’m investigating everything from workplace productivity, to students’ attention spans in class, to how we can prevent on-the-job accidents.

Yet, I know that I’m still an outlier in many ways. According to the Society of Women Engineers, only 13 percent of engineers are women. Only 26 percent of computer scientists are women. Nearly one of every three women who start pursuing an undergraduate degree in engineering ultimately decide on a different discipline.

And though my own institution out-performs these averages, the fact remains that only two out of every 10 STEM students at CETYS are women. We can — and must — do better. There’s not one solution to this, either. If we’re going to increase diversity and encourage more women to pursue careers in our field, stakeholders across society need to play their parts.

Though my parents initially discouraged me from entering a STEM field, they eventually came around and have supported me throughout my journey. I’m so lucky to have them and other women deserve the same level of support. Just like I played with Legos and re-constructed my toys, I encourage parents of young girls to allow room for imagination and growth. There are simple ways to make games and activities fun while also including lessons about engineering. I challenge parents everywhere to never set limits on their child’s imagination.

Starting when I was a teenager, I was lucky to have mentors who challenged me and supported me in my studies. I had a professor in junior high school who showed me how science can uplift communities and improve society. Now, I make time to mentor young women who were once just like me. Sometimes, my students are afraid to study STEM subjects because they struggle with math. I always remind them that if you love something, then there’s no real obstacle in your path.

Schools and universities play a critical role in fostering creativity, critical thinking and inclusion among their students. From collaborating with nonprofits and companies, to providing students with hands-on experiences in STEM fields, there are so many ways educational institutions can expose students from all backgrounds to this type of work.

Mexico has a generation of young people bursting with the same curiosity and drive to pursue STEM careers as I did. I see this every day in my classroom and working with my colleagues across campus. The innovations that we lead here at CETYS can change the world, and they’ll only get better as we increase the diversity of who’s involved. I call on my colleagues in Mexico and across the globe to encourage young women to pursue STEM fields no matter how many challenges may lie in their paths.

Nataly Medina is the Cybernetics Electronics Engineering Academic Coordinator at CETYS University-Tijuana. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in digital systems sciences.