The traditional perception is that engineering remains a predominantly male-dominated industry in South Africa, and will continue to do so until there is clear and targeted intervention. This is according to Jani Bester, Application Engineer for Autodesk. She speaks from personal experiences of initial reaction to a female in this industry.  “For a woman in the architecture or engineering space, it is sometimes met with surprise and hesitation to engage in high level project conversation.”

This is owing to the traditional perception on the difference between male and female skills sets. “Women are often considered to be better at organising and beautifying, so are encouraged to pursue careers in administration, interior design or drafting within the industry. Men are perceived as more solutions driven. While men and women do think differently, these stereotypes have definitely seemed to evolve over the recent years.” She feels that a balance in genders could work to the industry’s advantage. “Engineering is, essentially, about solving problems. Therefore, it makes sense that true problem solving would benefit from different minds looking at the problem from a number of different angles.” As an Application Engineer, Jani works as a ‘techie’ in a space with very few other women. Her responsibilities include technical training and assistance within Autodesk’s reseller channel, as well as solution selling, where she meets with businesses and analyses their software requirements. She speaks at a number of conferences spreading the word and encouraging the adoption of Building Information Modelling and provides training for students in Autodesk software.

She says, “Because of my gender and my age, I am often mistaken for a student when I am hosting technical training sessions. I am not the older engineer my audience would usually be expecting. I actually find this empowering as I like to surprise people and interact with them afterwards to gain their feedback on their thoughts.” However, the lack of other women in her field indicates a larger challenge. Jani believes that the shortage of female engineers is not a coincidence, but possibly something girls learn from a young age. “Engineering revolves around fixing things and solving problems. I feel boys are well-prepared for this, as they play with tools and prioritise solutions from an early age. Girls, however, are taught to play house and dress dolls. It’s not surprising that as a child I used to play with Lego, and not Barbie dolls. I am encouraged by toy companies like GoldieBlox that are helping girls to explore other possible career options by creating toys to inspire the next generation of female engineers.”

Unfortunately, the lack of women aspiring to become engineers is most acute in the lower-income households in South Africa. Due to societal pressures and lack of information and encouragement, women assume a passive role from a young age. By the time organisations start entering communities to motivate the youth to pursue a career in engineering, most women are already of the opinion that engineering is not for them, or they won’t even consider it as an option. Intervention and education needs to take place in such cultures so we can yield the effects in the next generation.

If South Africa wishes to see an engineering industry with more balanced gender and racial representation, there needs to be a powerful drive to educate and mentor future female engineers from all backgrounds. There also needs to be a shift in how this industry career is traditionally perceived. Jani concludes, “We need to show girls from a young age what engineering is about. We often say the word without knowing the true meaning of it. Engineering is not about creating complex structures or buildings, it is about applying human solutions to real problems.”