Academic performance and gender in the first year of Systems Engineering

Abstract

The low presence of women in engineering careers is a problem in Peru, a country characterized by marked social and economic differences and an educational system with low levels of performance, high desertion and low terminal efficiency. In the specialty of Systems Engineering of a public university, the low female presence in two dimensions is analyzed: income and academic performance. In both cases, performance rates are worked.The results reveal that college admission patterns are similar for both sexes. Academic performance indicators show differences and indicate that women tend to be more efficient. In the areas of Programming and Mathematics, most students face difficulties, however, in both cases women perform better. In general training subjects, women are geared towards further developing soft skills.Some conclusions are set out as a starting point for educational actions to improve women's income and performance rates and to improve female retention and graduation rates.