Abstract

Numerous studies have reported that women experience difficulties in selecting majors in engineering, and that they continue to encounter obstacles throughout their studies. This article explores student and faculty discourse regarding an undergraduate engineering major in Chile, in terms of women's inclusion in the major. Group and individual interviews were used to analyze the ways that these actors construct the female students' experience and the influence of gender. The results indicate that while the women promulgate gender discourses, their teachers sustain discourses of neutrality, while ignoring or minimizing challenges for women. The article discusses the possible consequences of both positions on the inclusion of women in engineering majors.