She’s been the faculty liaison for 100+ Women Strong for a full year, and civil engineering lecturer Molly Hughes is sold— on the organization’s mission, and especially on the people helping to accomplish it. So much so that she’s even joined 100+ Women Strong as a new member!
“What I’ve found is that the women who are part of 100+WS are just incredible,” said Hughes, a 1990 Auburn University civil engineering graduate who has taught civil engineering courses at her alma mater for the past 16 years. “They’re just tremendously talented and tremendously dedicated, and they work very hard—at their regular jobs and for the organization— to make sure that Auburn women engineers are prepared to have all the information they need going forward in order to be successful.”
Have things improved for women in engineering since her undergraduate days?
“Yes, we have made a lot of progress, but there’s still disparity out there,” she said. “You’d think you’d have just as many females as males in engineering, but that’s not really the case. So the question is ‘why is there that difference?’”
It’s a question Hughes believes that she, as 100+WS faculty liaison, is now in a better position to help answer.
“I’m kind of a sounding board for the 100+WS folks as they formulate programs and continue programs,” Hughes said. “I help determine if something is effective. Is this useful? Is this feasible? Is this something we want to do? Something that could be done?”
Hughes says she’s particularly excited about possibly helping to develop additional high school recruitment strategies.
“For instance, it of course makes good sense if we’re targeting high schools that already have strong engineering, or pre-engineering programs, but there may be other students out there at other schools with as much potential, but who don’t have a chance to demonstrate it.”
Hughes says that serving as faculty liaison for 100+WS has really opened her eyes even more to the importance of fostering community for women in engineering.
“That’s my main take away so far,” she said. “I’m just in awe of all of the women who are volunteering their time to carry out the mission.”