The Shaking up Tech event will shake our prejudices about technology
Photo: Mikko Raskinen - Shaking up Tech 2018
The field of technology in Finland is exceptionally gendered. The division into men's and women's sectors is very steep in Finland compared to other EU countries.
Only one in five university graduate engineering students and professors at engineering colleges are women in Finland.
Aalto University, LUT-University and the University of Oulu want to offer young women a new understanding of technology by organizing the Shaking Up Tech event on 8 October 2020. The aim is to encourage more young women to apply to technological fields of study.
“We want to familiarise young upper secondary school students with the versatility of science and technology and present the various career options offered by the field and the opportunities it opens for influencing the world” says Marja Niemi, Development Manager at Aalto University School of Science.
Much remains to be done. According to market research company Taloustutkimus’ recent survey, only around one tenth of women under 30 are interested in a university education in science and technology.
“We want to familiarise young upper secondary school students with the versatility of science and technology. ”
At the same time Finnish girls are the second best experts in mathematics and science worldwide according to the PISA survey. How did we end up in this situation? Why do the talented girls not apply to technological fields of study?
”I think we must articulate better what engineering and the development of technology are about. This requires a cultural change within engineering and a lot more discussion about the added value of women and other nontraditional groups to participate in engineering and technological development”, says Johanna Naukkarinen, Post-doctoral researcher from LUT School of Energy Systems.
About half of the engineers in the fields of environmental technology and materials engineering are women, but in many areas the absence of women is striking.
“Engineering has several subdisciplines, some of which attract women more than others. However, it is important to recognize that engineering design and human–technology interfaces are central aspects in any field of engineering”, says Naukkarinen.
No female-friendly subdisciplines needed
According to Naukkarinen, no area of engineering should be considered a sub-science belonging to women, including the ethical issues of technologies.
“Creating “female-friendly” subdisciplines is not really an answer. They easily become devalued and perceived as “invalid engineering” and actually work to maintain the status quo of engineering as masculine as it has hitherto been”, says Naukkarinen.
“Instead we must show that engineering is a meaningful profession that promotes the well-being of people”, concludes Naukkarinen.
The organisers of Shaking up Tech want to see a future where as many women as men work in technology. They might be on the right track since according to a survey of last year´s participants the event doubled the number of women interested in the field of science and technology among its participants. Almost half of the participants also stated that they intend to apply to studies in the field of technology.
Authored by Mia Paju.