item details
Overview
This construction kit, produced by Lincoln International in the 1960s, encourages children to develop an interest in engineering and construction by designing and building models.
In New Zealand the engineering industry expanded significantly after the Second World War, boosted by a number of large-scale public works projects such as road realignment, motorway development and hydro-electric schemes. Men dominated the industry, and it was not until 1975 that a New Zealand born-woman, Sue Scott, graduated as a Civil Engineer.
This set, like similar toys such as Meccano, is targeted at boys. Professors Robert Vale and Brenda Vale suggest in ‘Learning to Engineer’ that ‘it was a brave manufacturer that pictured girls playing with [engineering toys] – usually the girl is to one side, watching admiringly’ (90). The impact of these gender segregated toys on the later uptake of careers in science and engineering has been examined by politicians and scholars in other countries, and that research may also be relevant in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Currently, less than a quarter of those studying for a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in New Zealand are women, and women make up only 13% of engineers. The gender pay gap in engineering is higher than the national average. In 2011 Engineering New Zealand established a Women in Engineering programme, and their goal is to get 20% more women in engineering and architecture roles by 2021.
References
- Engineering New Zealand. n.d. Women in Engineering. https://www.engineeringnz.org/resources/women-engineering/
- National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women, n.d. Women in Innovation. https://women.govt.nz/council/information/women-innovation
- University of Auckland Engineering Department. n.d. Sue Scott. Alumni Stories. https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/engineering/community-engagement/alumni/alumni-stories/sue-scott.html
- Vale, Robert and Brenda Vale. 2011. Learning to Engineer. Build 125 (Aug/Sept): 90-91.
- Wainman, Ruth. 2014. Boys and their toys: Have science-themed toys had an impact on women’s careers? The Guardian, February 14. https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-h-word/2014/feb/14/boys-toys-science-impact-women-careers-history
- Wright, Matthew. 2010. Engineering - Engineering after 1945. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/engineering/page-4