http://www.livescience.com/39124-women-engineers-earn-less-than-men.html

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf12311/

http://logos.cs.uic.edu/recruit/Best_Jobs_in_America_.jpg

A new report says less than ten per cent of Britain's engineers are women. This is the lowest figure of all European countries. Vince Cable, the UK Business Secretary, told reporters that this would be an "enormous problem for years to come". He said one of the biggest areas that needed more women was in computer science. Many women graduate from university with degrees in computer science, so Mr Cable did not understand why there were so few female computer engineers. He suggested that many companies had a "psychological barrier" against women becoming engineers. He said: "Half of all state schools don't have a single girl doing physics. We are only tapping half the population."

a)

What did you think when you read the headline?

b)

What springs to mind when you hear the word 'engineer'?

c)

Why do you think there are so few women engineers in Britain?

d)

Why is this an "enormous problem"?

e)

Are women attracted to engineering as a career?

f)

What do you think of a job in engineering?

g)

How important are engineers?

h)

Do you think studying computer science would be interesting?

i)

Why might companies have a "psychological barrier" against women becoming engineers?

j)

Did / Do you like studying physics?

Read more:http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1311/131106-women-engineers.html#ixzz2kct0iaag