This recent posting on The Work Circuit's message board points up how, for many women in the electronics industry, the glass ceiling is proving more difficult to break than many of the technological problems faced in the workplace. But ask why someone would put up with this and the response is one both female and male engineers would appreciate:

"Why do I still do engineering after 20 years? Because I love the mental challenge of design and the thrill of getting something to work."

For many women keen on a challenge, the positive aspects of a career in engineering far outweigh the negative. But as the EE Times' "2001 Salary & Opinion Survey" reveals, the problems for women begin before they start their first job or even university. This is flagged by some of the comments the students participating in our College Survey made.

"I think the number of females in the electronics field is increasing but unless more marketing and advertising is done toward females, then no dramatic difference will be seen," said one woman.

"I see significant potential in electronic engineering only in higher-level management," said another. "Positive discrimination is promoting women in engineering; however, in the long term this could have negative results."

A large part of the challenge of tackling the problems is at the school level, say respondents.

"The electronics industry needs to be more widely publicized at school level," said one student. "Electronics is poorly publicized. You only find out about it if you are really looking for it," said another. "Electronics is trying to improve its image but not enough is done in schools to promote it to women."

"I certainly don't see electronics as glamorous, though I see it as well paid," said one male respondent. "There are certainly not enough ladies in the field, in my experience. It all stems from schools. How many people are studying math, physics or technology?"

A survey aimed at examining why high-technology companies experience difficulty in retaining women in their work force, carried out by Women in Technology International, suggests that many women believe gender bias continues to hurt their careers, and almost half plan to leave their companies in the near future.

More than 600 women responded to the survey: 24 percent in engineering, 23 percent in information systems and 20 percent in marketing and sales within the high-tech sector. In general, women said they liked their work but were dissatisfied with their company's management. Of the women surveyed, 81 percent said they thought a qualified man was likely to be promoted whereas only 27 percent said a qualified woman would be.

Nearly half of those surveyed, primarily middle managers in IT and engineering, said they intended to leave their current jobs within the next two years for a better position or better salary, although it was not clear whether they planned to leave because of gender bias. "They're not paid the same and they're not given challenging jobs," said Tracy Wilen, the researcher who prepared the survey. "You have a lot of women feeling that they are not being used to their fullest potential."

Stephanie Gordon is community leader for www.theworkcircuit.com.