It is reported that between the years 2016-2026, the United States will need to increase the number of working engineers by 14.6%. The country does not presently graduate engineers at a rate which can meet this demand, and many academic and industry professionals agree that this will soon become a crisis. They also agree that if females were to enter the workforce in engineering at a similar rate to males, the crisis would easily be averted. However, for this to occur, the number of females studying engineering at all levels, from high school through post-secondary education, would need to increase significantly. This study investigated factors influencing female students' participation in the gender nontraditional area of engineering technology in secondary vocational education. The study details a problem of practice from one Massachusetts career and technical high school whose engineering technology program enrolls female students at only half the state's average rate. Four research sub-questions guide the study, which incorporates a mixed methods design, including student focus group interviews and self-efficacy surveys. Findings are presented relative to each of the four sub-questions and are supported by connections to scholarly research, and quotations from student interviews. The study presents four recommendations for improvement designed to provide more equitable access to engineering curriculum by female students. Recommendations are provided in the areas of kinesthetic project choices for female students, redesign of the classroom space for increased sense of belonging among female students, addressing issues of implicit bias in gender nontraditional programs, and developing supplemental material to help educate parents of ninth-graders in the subject of engineering. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]