2023-05-12 04:00:00
If engineering schools still welcome so few women, it is not because of competitions.
“I would like to dedicate this nomination to all the little girls by telling them: go after your dreams and nothing should stop the fight for the place of women in our society”, declared the polytechnician Élisabeth Borne, the evening of her appointment at Matignon. It was just a year ago, when École Polytechnique was celebrating 50 years since it opened up to women. The fight is far from won. At Polytechnique, more than 4 out of 5 X students are boys. Ranked second in the ranking of engineering schools, CentraleSupélec, does not manage better with 19% of girls. “In prep class, it was already the same”says Maya, 24, freshly graduated from the Ecole des Mines de Nancy, whose promotion had less than 20% girls.
In agronomy schools, they are in the majority
On average, according to the CDEFI (the Conference of Directors of French Engineering Schools), girls represent only 28% of the workforce in the engineering cycle of these establishments. And again, this figure is inflated by schools of agronomy, biology and chemistry, where girls are overrepresented. At Agro ParisTech, they represent 65% of the workforce. Conversely, there are very few girls in schools where mathematics plays an important role, in the industrial and IT sectors. Thus, they are only 16% in Arts et Métiers and Ensimag and 23% in MPSI preparation, the most mathematical preparation. Why are girls still in the minority in engineering schools when these were the first Grandes Ecoles to welcome women. The first graduates left the Saint-Etienne School of Mines in 1919 when HEC only welcomed the first girls in 1973.
“The weight of stereotypes and self-censorship make us miss out on very great talents”Philippe Dufourcq, Deputy CEO of CentraleSupélec
Let’s get a question out of the way. Is the jury of engineering schools misogynistic? “Certainly not, assures the general at the head of Polytechnique, Laura Chaubard. We count 20% of candidates for the competition for 20% of admitted. Hardships do not put women at a disadvantage.The reason is to be found elsewhere. “Women still tend to make their choice of orientation on the criteria of ‘social responsibility’ They actually go more towards the professions of care, education, social services”, analyzes Philippe Dufourcq, deputy general manager of CentraleSupélec. Engineering is therefore perceived as a male discipline, girls still have trouble grasping it. “The weight of stereotypes and self-censorship make us miss out on very great talents”, he adds.
The girls have abandoned math-physics
And this lack of taste for science starts early. Because to become an engineer, mathematics and physics are essential. Gold “from high school, girls choose mathematics and physics less as an option. The pool is therefore less important”, continues Laura Chaubard. Girls are only 36% opt for the mathematics-physics-chemistry duo in high school, according to the Ministry of National Education, and only 12.1% to have chosen Maths and engineering sciences. Conversely, they are in the majority in maths and SVT, and fill medical schools. Since the reform of the baccalaureate, the share of girls in the teaching of mathematical specialties in the final year has fallen below the level of 1994, learned societies and mathematical associations have been alarmed. By making maths optional, the girls hastened to abandon this subject, before the Ministry of National Education decided to reinstate an hour and a half weekly teaching.
However, feminization represents a strategic priority, “don’t if only because in real life, our engineers evolve within mixed companies», adds the deputy director of CentraleSupélec. But also because France needs more scientists to face the current technological challenges.
Prevent sexist behavior
What solutions? Unless two separate competitions are organized to ensure perfect parity, which is not envisaged, the mode of action chosen is to communicate massively to girls about the interest in doing science. “At 14 or 15, students don’t always know what this portmanteau of engineer covers.notes the director of Polytechnique. We intervene massively in colleges and high schools to promote scientific studies, bring an incarnation to the profession, explain the opportunities». The objective is the same for IMT and the Fondation Mines-Télécom which, via their “Ambassadrices” program, launched in January 2023, allows 3rd grade students (girls) to carry out their internship in schools or companies. program sponsors. Finally, information campaigns have been put in place to prevent sexist behavior in engineering schools so that women feel safe there and are not afraid to make reports.
The more a country is developed, the less girls do science
Moreover, are foreign countries doing better? Surprisingly, according to an article in the journal Psychological science, the more developed a country, the less girls engage in scientific studies. Thus, in India and Morocco but also in Algeria, girls invest more in engineering schools than French, American or Swedish girls. In these countries, emancipation depends above all on an income and a secure career. Thus, Centrale Casablanca has 42% women. “Entering an engineering school in Morocco means having the assurance of taking the social ladder whether you are a girl or a boy”decrypts Philippe Dufourcq.
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