Women and technology: disrupting leadership in engineering education

This chapter looks at challenges for women in leadership in technical disciplines, specifically mechanical and civil engineering. It considers strategies being employed to correct the gender imbalance and highlights the particular challenges faced by women working in these disciplines. The chapter responds to these challenges by building on the need for changes in thinking highlighted by thought leaders in the 21st century, to suggest a way forward for creating change that directly relates to the role of women in leadership in the discipline. The chapter is relevant for scholars researching gender equality and also for university leaders in developing strategies for adopting women in leadership initiatives in a changing educational landscape. It will also be of interest to academics within these and related disciplines as well as academics involved in the delivery of professional development courses for women in leadership.