A male engineering student in the US has penned an open letter to his female peers, commending them for their perseverance in a field where he argues they are widely regarded as unequal from men.

Jared Mauldin, a mechanical engineering student from Eastern Washington University in Washington, said in his letter that women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields are not unequal because of their abilities, but because of how society treats them.

“You (women) and I are in fact unequal,” Mr Mauldin wrote.

“Sure, we are in the same school program, and you are quite possibly getting the same GPA as I, but does that make us equal?” he asks, before openly stating he believes women were not given the same opportunities in life as himself.

“I did not, for example, grow up in a world that discouraged me from focussing on hard science,” he said.

The letter was published in the Washington Newspaper The Easterner. (Facebook)

Mr Mauldin goes on to explain how he never had to deal with people telling him his leadership skills made him bossy or deal with society telling him his physical appearance made up his self-worth.

He wrote about how he was never told to “abstain from certain activities because I might be thought too masculine”.

The university senior also said he believed his teachers had treated his female classmates differently, creating obstacles for their academic growth.

“I was not overlooked by teachers who assumed that the reason I did not understand a tough math problem or science concept was, after, because of my gender,” he wrote.

Mr Mauldin closed his letter by voicing admiration for his female peers who he admits will face the “added scrutiny or remarks” throughout their careers for being considered the “diversity hire”.

“When I experience success the assumption of others will be that I earned it,” he said.

“You and I cannot be equal.