Women in Engineering in the Netherlands

SUMMARY

This paper discusses the situation of women who study engineering in the Netherlands. Quantitative data expressing the underrepresentation of women in engineering is presented against the background of some characteristics of the Dutch society. Next we consider the position of the women who did enter a technical university. Their drop-out rates are compared with those of men. Drawing on the results of our qualitative interviews, we sketch a picture of factors and processes which influence the course of their study. It is argued that the social intergration of women affects the way they deal with the two dominant questions ‘can I do it’ and ‘do I want this’.