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Slowly but Surely: Bridging the Gender Divide in Engineering

book cover

Early in the 20th century when women started to move into engineering careers, they were labeled as “invaders.”

Associate Professor of History at Iowa State University Amy Bix says that image has taken most of the 21st century to correct. 

“As engineers, they weren’t really considered ‘proper women,’ but they weren’t really considered ‘proper engineers’ either.”

While the number of women working in engineering increased after World War II, women still made up less than 1% of the work force. She's recently published the new bookGirls Coming to Tech!: A History of American Women in Engineering.

During this hour on Talk of Iowa, Bix talks with host Charity Nebbe about the history of women in engineering. Janice Marquardt, a senior buyer for Mid-American Energy who used to work as a mechanical engineer for Vermeer, also joins the conversation. 

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Charity Nebbe is the host of IPR's Talk of Iowa
Lindsey Moon is IPR's Senior Digital Producer