"Really? You want to be an engineer?" Anonymous

Today there is a common misconception that gender inequality no longer exists. Yet Stephanie Coontz of the New York Times has analyzed the data and, for me at least, put this misconception to rest in her article “The Myth of Male Decline.” She uses Betty Friedan's novel, The Feminine Mystique, as further support for her point. Friedan aimed to convince women of the 1950s and 1960s that that in order to be happy, women must have personal or professional goals. Coontz believes that women should embrace Friedan's ideas and, despite the still-prevalent gender inequalities, strive for fulfilling vocations.

Based on a study from 2011, only 11.5% of Electrical Engineering degrees went to women. Because of the lack of female participation in the field, my passion for engineering comes as a surprise to many. As a woman, I often get a confused look or awkward laugh of disbelief when I tell someone I plan on studying electrical engineering. I've encountered situations where I have been encouraged to consider other career options. I specifically experienced a large amount of adversity in my Digital Electronics class, where I was one of three girls out of twenty-two students. At this point I was used to the uneven male to female ratio;...