Exploring the Potential: Encouraging Girls to Study Engineering Discipline (A case study of Borno State)

Abstract

Females are underrepresented in engineering cohorts in Nigeria. The underrepresentation of female participants in engineering fields has been a barrier for diversity and equality in both the industry and academic professions. This paper explores the underlying reasons for girls' hesitation to pursue engineering disciplines and discuss potential strategies to address these challenges. By promoting a supportive environment that encourages and empowers girls to engage in engineering education, we can work towards increasing female representation in this field and fostering a more diverse, innovative, and inclusive engineering workforce. The study found that some factors that influence girls under participation in engineering are Gender stereotype, quality of STEM education, lack of career guidance, self-efficacy, and lack of family supports. suggestion was made as follows: Challenging gender stereotypes, Improving the quality of STEM education in Borno State, building girls' self-efficacy in STEM, providing effective career guidance services, and promoting the visibility of female role models in engineering.