Are Biomedical Engineering professions receptive to women?
Biomedical Engineering is extremely attractive to women as a degree program and career. Women earn a greater percentage of college degrees in Biomedical Engineering than any other engineering discipline, according to the American Society for Engineering education. Among those earning B.S. degrees in biomedical engineering, 39% were awarded to women in 2000; at the master’s level, 34% of biomedical degrees awarded went to women; and at the doctoral level, 32% of biomedical engineering degrees awarded went to women. The attractions for many women are: the flexibility and inherent creativity of the discipline relative to other engineering areas; the ability to work in a profession that strives to improve the quality of people’s lives; the existing critical mass of women in medical professions; and the integration of biological sciences.
