What are some challenges that women in the field of engineering may have to overcome?

Ones talent and hardwork will pay off irrespective of the gender :). I am a female and have never faced any challenges during my engineering years or my workplace.
There are some labor intensive job profiles where they prefer male candidates, but if you are not going to take up any course on that lines then there is nothing to worry about . If still in doubt you may talk to your seniors/family friends and seek their feedback.

All the Best !

Hi, I have been in the engineering industry for nearly 30 years years and as a qualified engineer for the last 14. I have experienced prejudism in the workplace, I cannot deny that, but most of it was more than 25 years ago. At first, it was difficult getting my employers to take me seriously about being an engineer. I had two particular males over a period of time (one boss and one tutor) that gave me grief and I suffered from their prejudism, but that was a long time ago now. Once I showed my emplyer I could do the job and do it well and I passed all my qualififcations with distinctions, I earned respect from my colleagues and my labour team. No more than what anyone (male or female) in my position deserves. What prejudism I experienced once an engineer, I just laughed off. My father was an engineer and that was my goal and I achieved it so nobody could take that away from me. A female technician I worked with struggled for 25 years of prejudism but I really think you have to find a way to shrug it off or it will not leave you. Dont act like a victim or you will become a victim. That can be said for any situation. You need to find your confidence and you will only get that from doing the job and gaining experience and forming good working relationships. I was the only female engineer in my field in the company I worked for, but I was never made to feel I was female so that I felt different from my colleagues. I instructed 'all male' engineer teams for major maintenance schemes and was sole charge of 'all male' repair teams for my own schemes on site and I have to say that was the most enjoyable part, because I felt very at home with them. What helped me the most was that I absolutely LOVED my engineer role more than anything and I had support from my colleagues and my manager.
Good Luck and enjoy.
P.S. Never feel the engineering industry is a male dominated industry, just feel it is an industry that you really want to do well in. gender should never come into it. I had to physically dig ditches in the pouring rain at one point in my job (i am 4foot 11 inches tall), but I took it as a challenge and an experience and never considered it to be a man's job. And I was therefore respected for not trying to be different from my colleagues. Good Luck xx

While it really depends on your specific personality, women tend to fall prey to the impostor syndrome more than men do. Read more about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome

I would sit in meetings and marvel at the audacity of some of the males...their level of confidence in making statements that at the time seemed impossible to be sure of. It took me a few years, after gaining more experience, to realize that most men (and adults in general) are not sure of what they're saying but oftentimes the most confident sounding person wins. You could be the most reasonable person in a room, but if you're not heard, then it doesn't matter.

It took me a while to gain the courage to speak up for my thoughts on certain matters. As engineers, male or female, sometimes the most value we provide is calling out others' BS, so don't be afraid to speak up! Especially in cases where you believe that safety is being compromised.

I would say I've been lucky as a female engineer--I grew up as one of the only girls on the street in my neighborhood, had mostly guy friends, took all the advanced math/science in high school, had 80% male classmates, and now I am very used to interacting with male-dominated groups. I don't think that anyone necessarily means to discriminate against women in the workplace (well, most of the folks I've worked with anyways). It's just the small things that our culture ingrains in people that make women seem less credible; higher pitched voices, willingness to compromise, etc. So you have to work sometimes to assert yourself. It's striking a weird balance, but I feel that if you can make it through engineering school, you will be well used to it by the time you're working in the field. It doesn't help to point out where you might think you're being treated differently because you're a woman. But keep it classy and professional. Also helps to ally with other women in your office--I've found that female engineers tend to look out for one another and encourage each other.

In conclusion...be a good engineer, know your stuff, and you will be fine.

Shaye:

Just a note to encourage you to enter the Field of Engineering. I am a Civil Engineer with 40 years of experience, nearly all of it with large consulting firms. When I began my career in 1975, there were very few women in engineering consulting firms. But during the last 15-20 years women engineers have made a much higher percentage of staff at such firms. I can tell you from personal experience that for firms such as CH2M and HDR, women engineers are valued and treated with professional respect.

Good luck, Pete Sturtevant, PE