This week Vince Cable announced that the lack of female engineers in the UK is an "enormous problem". So why aren't more girls studying engineering?

As a female engineering student, the situation actually favours me greatly. Employers call for diversity at the workplace and treat me as a rare gem. Once we're on the job and prove we're competent, it's so easy to stand out among all your colleagues. You can call it a biological stepping stone.

I went from an all-girls high school to a boys-only zone. There are about 15 girls in my engineering class of 130 and barely any female lecturers in my department.

I chose engineering because I loved maths and science, and engineering promised real opportunities to change the world. We make everything: from bridges to engines, IT systems to cosmetics.

At university, I have never felt discriminated against for being female, or less able and passionate than my male counterparts. I believe this welcoming atmosphere is true in the workplace as well.

But the "boyish" atmosphere actually never gets boring. During my first year we built robots to catch pingpong balls and battle other robots. Everyone played with remote-controlled robots and obsessed over faster motors and more aggressive robot claws. The great fun I had made up for the lack of female companionship and "girly" chat in my class.

None of my female friends from school are pursuing engineering at university. It is such a shame, as I know that they could potentially do well in engineering, if they chose to do so.

Besides filling the critical lack of engineers in UK, I think women bring a different perspective to the table. Equal representation is especially important in engineering, as engineers design products and solve problems that affect a male and female world. Imagine the greater advances that could occur in engineering if men and women were working together more often.

I think there are two reasons that turn women away from a career in engineering. Firstly, I think as society we have a misperception of engineering.

Professor Elena Rodriguez-Falcon from the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Sheffield says: "My hunch is that the term 'engineering' in this country is often confused with vocational jobs. If you become an engineer you're going to be fixing cars, machines, collecting rubbish and things like that."

TV programmes also have a part to play: the popular comedy series, The Big Bang Theory, compares attractive Penny with socially-awkward, nerdy Amy. Who wants to be Amy?

There's another myth that puts girls off studying engineering at university: that girls are worse than boys at maths and physics. A survey by National Numeracy showed that 71% of men describe themselves as "good or excellent" at maths, while only 59% of women do. Girls have higher "maths anxiety" than boys.

These statistics suggest that as women we're becoming our own enemies by doubting our abilities. I asked the boys in my class for their opinion and they said the issue of women in engineering is "overrated". No one is stopping girls from stepping up and joining in.

There are countless female engineers who have forged a name in what some people think is a man's world. The CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, and Roma Agrawal who helped built The Shard, for example. I would encourage girls not to rule out engineering as a career.

Who runs the world? Girls.