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The South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) has been under pressure to prove the industry’s commitment to gender transformation after former CEO Manglin Pillay penned a column questioning whether women should be targeted in terms of the science, technology and engineering fields when they were better suited to people-based or caring industries. His column, titled "Out on a Rib" was featured in the July issue of the group's civil engineering industry magazine. Pillay's position as CEO was terminated in September.
READ: Outcry after 'reckless' comments on women's place in engineering
Here is how SAICE’s chief operations officer Steven Kaplan foresees the future of the industry in this edited interview with Fin24.
Fin24: To what extent has this been a difficult period for SAICE?
Steven Kaplan (SK): We take the views of our members extremely seriously and our relationship with the public. We felt it was in the best interests to part ways with [former CEO] Manglin [Pillay] and he felt this way as well. We’ve moved on since, put it behind us. It was an eye opener for us, we certainly had a wake up call, made us realise there are gender issues in this sector, but this isn’t unique to this country.
Fin24: Why were there no immediate consequences for Pillay?
SK: We did comment on that, we had to follow a proper human resources and labour process and we parted on amicable terms.
READ: Engineering CEO apologises, keeps his job
Fin24: How do you plan to address gender imbalance in civil engineering going forward?
SK: We are looking at developing a policy for the industry to understand the challenges women go through. It’s hard for me as a male to understand what females have to experience. As a consequence of the wake-up call we had, we will hold a think tank of around 40 people who wrote to us about Manglin [Pillay], female and male members, companies. The think tank will want to see evidence in terms of female engineer numbers changing, will have to set some goals, otherwise it becomes a bit of a talk shop. WomEng, Engineers without Borders and STEM (Science Techonolgy Engineering and Maths) Moms have been invited to the think tank. We will have a diverse range of input from men and women.
Fin24: How have things changed in the engineering sector already?
SK: When I was in university, (I graduated in 1973 from the University of Cape Town) out of the 300 intakes, there were three women - that’s 1%. Now 20-25% are female. The whole profile has changed as all the old white men will literally fall off the edge. I meet heads of departments from universities often and it gives me a lot of encouragement for the future of engineering, but transformation is slow.
READ: Women engineers speak out: From no female toilets to being mistaken for a secretary
Fin24: How are you making STEM more attractive to female learners?
SK: Our transformation is completely governed by [which graduates come out of] universities, who [in turn] say that they are reliant on what comes out of schools. If SAICE is going to impact change in [terms of ] gender or race, it has to be at school level. We have many school activities to create awareness around STEM.
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