Close-Up Talk Radio welcomes back engineer Monique Sidaross

Rosemead, CA – While women continue to make strides toward equality, discrimination in the workplace remains an unfortunate reality.

According to Eng. Monique Sidaross, an accomplished structural engineer and the first female president of the engineers union in its 36-year history, women engineers are routinely disrespected in the workplace.

“Engineers should be judged by their competence,” says Sidaross. “Women engineers are just as competent as their male counterparts. We deserve and demand respect and opportunity.”

As a prominent female engineer in a male-dominated field, Eng. Sidaross’ goal is to advance the engineering profession by solving the problems affecting women engineers in America. She considers her efforts part of a greater civil rights movement among women.

“It’s never one issue and it’s not about one person,” says Eng. Sidaross. “It starts with the construction community. We need to change our attitude. Man or woman, it’s about getting the job done. I’m as qualified as any man and I demand respect.”

Civil engineering is concerned with the design, construction and maintenance of everything from roads and bridges to buildings like hospitals and schools.

Eng. Sidaross obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in civil engineering from University of Alexandria, Egypt, and is a licensed engineer, then moved on to obtain her Master’s Degree in Civil/Structural engineering from USC-California. She is currently working on her PhD in Engineering Management for Positive Social Change at Walden University.

“I really appreciate the male engineers who have helped make me a good engineer, but in the American engineering field there’s a lot of prejudice,” says Eng. Sidaross. “I insist on making a change.”