Editorial: Engineering school must improve representation of women, minorities

Engineering students at UCLA are a largely homogeneous group. Women make up less than a quarter of the total number of engineering students, while students from minority groups make up less than 10 percent. These statistics go beyond UCLA and are representative of most engineering schools in the United States.

To address this problem, Jayathi Murthy, the dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, recently announced a plan to improve the representation of these groups in the engineering school by developing mentorship programs and support resources.

The new initiative should focus on increasing application and retention rates for minorities and women in the engineering school. But that’s easier said than done.

There is no quick fix to diversity, and without insight as to why UCLA is lacking in that department, these programs cannot succeed. Accordingly, the HSSEAS Committee on Diversity should conduct an internal audit, taking feedback from students and faculty to determine the extent of the problem.

Such insight will help develop resources tailored to UCLA. But in the meantime, UCLA can begin to tackle the situation by following the example of other universities which have already begun to address this pressing issue.

At other schools that have institutionalized Women in Engineering Programs, the programs focus on enrollment, outreach and providing support and mentorship for currently enrolled students.

In Harvey Mudd College’s 2014 class, more than half of the engineering students who graduated were women. The department largely attributes this high number to hands-on classes that incorporate project-based learning, a high percentage of female faculty and active mentoring.

Emulating Harvey Mudd, the engineering school should revamp the structure of the introductory engineering seminars from being research presentation-based to being more project-based. As the engineering school is planning on recruiting 50 more faculty members in the next few years, it can also try to correct the gender and diversity imbalance.

Additionally, most of the scholarships the school of engineering provide target specific majors or students involved in leadership activities. Although most national organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers and National Society of Black Engineers offer scholarships, only members of the clubs are eligible to receive them. Having the university provide scholarships specifically dedicated to minority groups would increase the aid available for all UCLA engineering students in those categories, regardless of whether they belong to a particular major or a club.

Apart from this, the attitude of people within the engineering school needs to change. Studies have shown that gender and racial microaggressions have shaped the experiences of various minority groups in engineering majors.The engineering ethics classes should be revamped to incorporate relevant examples of microaggressions and teach students to deal with these problems in a practical manner.

While there is no overnight solution to improve diversity, Murthy’s initiative is a step in the right direction. As long as steps are taken to ensure the initiative actually has value, diversity within the engineering school should improve.