A recent study done by the American Society for Engineering Education stated that Oakland University is ranked 11^th in the country for percentage of women faculty in engineering. According to the study, Oakland University has been ranked among the national leaders for percentage of women tenured and tenure-track faculty in engineering. But what does that mean for students?

President of the Association for Computer Machinery – Women (ACM-W), Allison Rossetto, explains why it is important that Oakland University has a nationally recognized percentage of tenured/ tenure-track women faculty. When asked how allowing for more gender diversity in engineering benefits the field, Rossetto replied that “getting women involved in engineering fields is critical for multiple reasons. First, as our world becomes more and more tech based, we need more engineers and computer scientists to meet the growing demand for technology. Women are a vastly underutilized resource.”

Although one of the goals of the ACM-W “includes promoting activities that result in more equal representation of women,” both the president and faculty advisor of the ACM-W felt that there was a lack of women engineers when they were undergraduates.

Rossetto stated that “when I was an undergraduate, I didn’t have any engineering professors and was often one of the few women in my class. I even had classes were I was the only female student…Having female professors gives female students a greater sense of belonging and the feeling that they can succeed in their chosen profession.”

Wenjin Zhou, Assistant Professor in the department of Computer Science and Engineering and advisor to the ACM-W since 2012, stated that “I think the fact that OU ranks 11th in the country for percentage of women faculty in engineering definitely benefit[s] women in engineering at OU. Speaking from personal experience, my only female professor in college was a role model who demonstrated what women are capable of doing in computer science. As a female faculty member, I have been devoted in mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in general, and women and minorities in particular.”

The fact that OU ranks 11^th in the country for percentage of women faculty in engineering allows female students the added benefit of having a role model, someone that they can look up to while they pursue their education. Since I have a sister studying biochemistry, it concerns me that she may not have a female role model at her college. In competitive fields like math and science, it is important for females to have a leader to guide them through the process of graduating.