ABSTRACT
In this chapter we provide some statistics and accompanying discussion to describe the current position of women in engineering in both the higher education and professional workforce sectors. We consider the situation in a range of different countries and regions of the world, as well as over a range of different engineering specializations. There is some focus on the English-speaking countries, particularly Australia, Canada, UK and US, because, as will be seen, these countries have lower participation rates of women in engineering in nearly every statistic examined. Although we present workforce statistics as well, and briefl y discuss some of the issues and programs used to try to retain women in the professional workforce, a more detailed discussion of this area is beyond the scope of this book, and references have been provided for readers who are interested in pursuing this topic further. In subsequent chapters we explore in greater detail the issues that women in engineering education face and the programs that have been used to attract and retain women in engineering.
