The number of women engineers has doubled in just two years, said the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) on Thursday.
There were currently 2,085 registered women engineers compared to 1 387 in 2006, said ECSA acting CEO Professor Hu Hanrahan in a statement.
Among these women, 361 were registered as professional engineers while 200 were professional engineering technicians and 701 were candidate engineers.
However, Hanrahan believed that the figure could be higher as there were some women who were not registered but were working in various engineering fields.
It would soon be mandatory for everyone working in the engineering sector to register with ECSA before they can seek employment.
"Gone are the days when engineering was regarded as a male profession and we want to demystify that myth," Hanrahan said.
"At ECSA we encourage women to explore engineering and rise to the challenge alongside their male counterparts in meeting the country's infrastructural needs," he said.
"We would want a situation where the number of registered women equals or surpasses that of men.
"Through our initiative to encourage high school learners to take up engineering, female learners will especially be encouraged to consider the field," said Hanrahan. - Sapa