The #Ilooklikeanengineer campaign has female corporates from all around the world standing up against the evident sexism present in the corporate industry. We talk to city college students about their view on the campaign and what are the issues they face.
How the campaign took off: When San Francisco-based engineer Isis Anchalee took part in an advertising campaign for recruitment of engineers in her company, little did she know that the poster will bring her a lot of unwanted attention. From tweets about “what was the need for the company to hire a model” to posts about people refusing to believe that Isis could actually be a qualified engineer, social media went all out.
But what Isis had neveranticipated was the sexist remarks that followed the posts. “I didn’t want or ask for any of this attention, but if I can use this to put a spotlight on gender issues in tech I consider that to be at least one win,” she wrote in a blog. And with this started the #Ilooklikeanengineer campaign that raises the issues of sexism that women face.
It’s not okay: Closer home, female students from engineering colleges talk about the sometimes evident and sometimes “not-so-obvious” sexist remarks. But they all agree on one point — intentional or not, it does discourage them and it’s not okay.
Mrunalini Bahuguna, a mechanical engineering student at CBIT, says the fact that she took up mechanical as her core subject, too, was not accepted by many. “The branch has just a few girls and it involves a lot of field work. When I walk up to a guy for a doubt or show just normal disinterest towards a subject, remarks like ‘Why are you wasting your time’ is what I get to hear often,” she says. And this mockery goes on, often questioning their capabilities for a job. “Many male friends say that we (girls) anyway won’t get a job as mechanical or civil are the branches of engineering, where a field work is required. Sadly, that’s the truth.”
Mounika Somisetty, a third-year computer science student at IIIT, who’s actually one of the toppers of her batch says, “They prefer a guy for the job, because they believe a guy works harder and won’t have family issues. Recently, I was having this discussion with one of my mom’s friends and she asked, “Isn’t that the truth?”. It’s really sad that people still think like that.”
The indirect taunts: Many a times, girls get these remarks and it is deemed as a joke. Mounika says, “The comments are not outright. For example, when we are working on a group project and I’m the team leader, they don’t respect you. These problems exist because the number of girls in the field are already less. The boys have an unfair advantage.”
Meanwhile, Mrunalini talks about the “looks”. “If a girl is smartly dressed, people assume that she’s not a merit student but has got a seat through management quota. They get shocked to know that someone who carries herself well can be intelligent too,” she says.
This is A much needed campaign: Mounika says, “I’m happy that people are talking about this issue. Just because you are an engineer, you don’t have to look a certain way.”
