If Beyoncé is to be believed, women run the world.
GIF via “Run the World (Girls).”
But in STEM careers, women are often underrepresented.
According to the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, only about 14% of engineers in the workforce are women.
Now, the root cause of this problem is a complicated one, and it starts early. As a society, we tend to condition ourselves to believe in inherently flawed gender roles. Little boys play with Legos while little girls play with dolls. And this imbalance affects the careers people see themselves in and aspire to. Throw a lack of representation and unconscious bias on top of that, and we find ourselves with a system that’s inherently flawed in ways that are difficult to resolve.
Things may be changing for the better, though.
Just this year, Dartmouth made history when the Thayer School of Engineering graduated a class that was 54% female. No other national research university had ever granted more bachelor’s degrees in engineering to women than men.
Pratt & Whitney is part of this larger trend. Their female engineers are bucking the status quo.
GIFs via United Technologies.
And what they’re working on is shaking things up, too. They’re building Geared Turbofan Engines — and they’re game-changing.
If that isn’t impressive enough, this engine is up to 75% quieter than the standard engine. These engines are greener, they save on fuel, and they’re quieter — good riddance, air and noise pollution.
The aviation industry is growing.
And the number of commercial aircraft is increasing — it should more than double in the next 20 years. Innovations like this engine are forward-looking, sustainable solutions to that growth — and the diverse talent building it is a sign of even more progress.
With all of these advancements, the future is looking bright.
