Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day

New survey findings

This year we’ve partnered with The Women’s Engineering Society to run a survey of their members to get their views and insights on women in engineering. Published today, the findings highlight the fantastic support networks being used by female engineers, plus their determination to inspire the next generation.

This comes at a time when women are still the most underrepresented group in engineering and technology roles, making up just 16.9% of the workforce. This compares to 56.2% of women in other occuprations. Our new women in engineering infographic dashboard contains a full workforce breakdown, plus the gender split on perceptions and STEM education pathways into engineering and technology.

Importance of support networks

In the survey of WES members, the majority of women said they are engaged in some sort of support network. 67% said they are members of a professional body such as a PEI, and 57% in a membership network outside of their organisation. Encouragingly almost half (45%) are involved in mentoring and 38% are involved in informal support from other women in engineering.

One respondent commented, “It is good to have a global-to-local network of women engineers who will support each other and encourage using different paths and mentor schemes according to young women's interests, ambitions, and aspirations."

Another commented, “I mentor a number of young women, mainly I speak to them about following their passions and not letting anything hold them back. I also explain the practicalities of following the field of engineering, subjects to study, interview tips and general confidence building.”

Strategies for inspiring the next generation

The survey findings also highlight what female engineers would like to see the community doing more of to inspire more young women into the sector. Among the top 3 responses were:

• Promote the wide range of careers available in engineering, especially those that make a positive difference in the world’ (78%)
• ‘support teachers with better training and resources to talk about engineering careers’ (76%)
• ‘start engaging children earlier – in primary or early secondary school’ (69%)

Other popular suggestions included, ‘showcase more visible female role models in engineering and technology’ (64%) and ‘challenge gender stereotypes in education, media, and wider society’ (62%).

One of the survey respondents commented, “My aim is always to be a visible and positive role model for young women. I am passionate about making sure they have full awareness of the engineering career landscape in order to make those big career-based decisions.”

Starting young

Neon, our platform for schools, aims to support with many of these areas. It helps primary and secondary teachers introduce their students to future STEM careers, raise their aspirations and explore the excitement of engineering and technology through brilliant activities, inspiring case studies and supportive resources. We have many fantastic female case studies on Neon and we’ll be spotlighting these throughout today. We’re always keen to showcase more diverse role models, so do get in touch if you’re interested in becoming a Neon case study.

We were delighted to see so many girls winning top awards in The Big Bang Competition again this year. This is a nationwide competition we run that recognises and rewards talented young engineers, scientists and technologists.

Many of these iniatives for schools and young people rely on support from volunteers. Volunteering can be an excellent way to help inspire the next generation and ensure they have access to diverse role models. Our Corporate Relationships Manager Jess Strudwick recently wrote a blog on volunteering. She covers top tips for where to begin, how to get the most from it and signposts to opportunities and resources.

Reactions from EngineeringUK and WES Chief Executives

Susan Robson, Interim CEO at Women's Engineering Society, comments, "Support networks and visible role models are vital not only for retaining and progressing women in engineering, but for inspiring the next generation. 70% of women also cite that mentoring and sponsorship are critical for progression, and networks can be a key enabler for these. International Women in Engineering Day reminds us just how powerful that collective impact can be".

Dr Hilary Leevers, our Chief Executive comments, “Female representation in the sector is growing, but at a slow rate that will not meet workforce needs. Women now take up 16.9% of roles, up from around 10% in 2010. It’s moving in the right direction, but we need to build commitment and momentum to make a bigger difference faster. 

“We’ve partnered with the Royal Academy of Engineering, Women’s Engineering Society (WES), BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, and Women into Science and Engineering (WISE) to address this. Through this gender pathways project, we are working with more than 40 organisations with the collective mission to drive up the number of young women on pathways into engineering and technology at 18. Together we will focus on key areas influencing girls and young women’s engineering and technology career choices.”

Engineering community unites  

It’s wonderful to see the community come together once again to celebrate International Women in Engineering Day. We’ve heard from many of our Corporate Members and the Code community about how they are supporting today. Keep an eye on our social channels where we’ll be sharing some of their activities. Importantly, many are also committed to supporting diversity in the workforce throughout the year and inspiring more young people from all backgrounds into the sector. We’ll be publishing a guest blog later today from a female apprentice at Turnmill Engineering who is being mentored by the female Managing Director at Truenorth Marketing – stay tuned for that.

Get involved

Get involved with International Women in Engineering Day

Find out more about gender pathways into engineering and technology

Becoming a case study on Neon