The female t(h)inker : narratives of gender by college level engineering students in Singapore

Abstract

Gender-disproportionate participation in STEM disciplines is a fairly global phenomenon, and Singapore is no exception. This research seeks to uncover gender narratives as they are expressed by college level engineering students in Singapore, in order to discover some of its possible origins (such as state policy) and effects (an exclusionary masculine culture), which might be likely to deter female individuals from electing to read them. As government efforts to steer the country towards a knowledge-based economy intensify, the effects of these discourses continue to be relevant in determining female participation in the burgeoning high-technology and research sectors.