WOMEN AS THE MINER'S CANARY IN UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING EDUCATION

In this paper, we will examine the metaphor of the Miner's Canary as it relates to undergraduate women majoring in engineering at a large, Midwestern university. Prior to the existence of sensors that can detect dangerous levels of various gases in mines, miners would carry canaries into the mines with them as a warning system for high levels of carbon monoxide 1. The canary has a more fragile respiratory system than humans; it is more sensitive to change in the quality of air in an environment. When the canary would begin to struggle for breath, the miners took this as a signal that there was a problem with the atmosphere in the mine. Lani Guinier, Gerald Torres and Susan Sturm have posited the idea that the metaphor of the Miner's Canary is an important metaphor for viewing the behavior of those in underrepresented minority groups in institutions or career fields and encourage faculty and administrators to look at the behavior of underrepresented minority groups within an institution as sensitive indicators to potentially toxic problems 2. By using minority group behavior as a diagnostic tool for analyzing the reactions of minority groups, faculty and administration can begin to understand the ways in which admissions criteria, pedagogy, curriculum, and institutional environments need to be changed to not only support the needs of the minority groups but make the environment healthier for all 2. Women are approximately 18% of all undergraduate students in engineering nationally, and 20% of the engineering student body at this large Midwestern university. These percentages have remained relatively flat for the last 10 - 15 years, despite years of national and international research as to the cause of women's underrepresentation in engineering, and increasing numbers of programs and activities intended to improve women's representation in engineering fields. This paper will explore evidence that indicates the collective behavior of women majoring in engineering at this institution could be more sensitive earlier to subsequent correlated institutional change. It appears that women's responses are stronger to both positive and negative events at an institution. By using the metaphor of the Miner's Canary in looking at women's behavior at this institution, this paper seeks to establish that women engineering students' collective behavior is a leading indicator of important issues that impact all students in engineering education.