Высшее инженерно-техническое образование женщин: история и современные тенденции
Higher engineering education of women: history and current trends

Summary/Abstract: The formation and development of higher engineering education of women from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twenty-first century are considered on the basis of historiography, statistics and Internet resources analysis. The article demonstrates the most common gender stereotypes in higher education and labour relations. The examples of organization of learning on Women’s polytechnic courses (St. Petersburg, 1906) are provided, the author follows the fortunes of their first graduates. On the basis of statistics the dynamics of growth in the number of girls in higher engineering colleges is analyzed. It is suggested that the increase in the number of women in the universities of this profile is largely linked with the socio-economic development of the USSR: industrialization, the Great Patriotic War. The fate of women engineers is considered. On the basis of the analysis of periodicals and Internet resources the author concludes that traditional views of a woman’s inability to study at a technical university and work as an engineer are but a myth. The author expresses her opinion on current trends in higher engineering and technical education of women. On the one hand, traditional gender stereotypes in higher engineering and technical education and industrial relations still reside in public opinion of Russian people. Public authorities, administration of universities, scientific and industrial organizations, the media do little to create a positive image of a woman engineer as well as to inform girls about the professional growth of graduates of the higher technical school. On the other hand, the number of girls seeking to pursue engineering as a profession is growing steadily. In the field of higher education and workplace relations, there is a tendency towards leveling of gender differences.

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