{"id":12712,"date":"2019-06-11T11:55:48","date_gmt":"2019-06-11T10:55:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/?p=12712"},"modified":"2019-06-11T11:59:17","modified_gmt":"2019-06-11T10:59:17","slug":"inspiring-the-female-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/inspiring-the-female-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspiring the female future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hetal Patel discusses the importance of women in engineering<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 23rd June 1919, a committee of influential women sensed a new dawn. The First World War had ended, and significant steps had been taken towards women\u2019s suffrage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group, ranging from designers and munitions factory managers to wives of eminent engineers, rallied to found the Women\u2019s Engineering Society (WES).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

100 years later, progress for women in industry has often felt stagnant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we celebrate the centenary of the Women\u2019s Engineering Society, the fact that only 11% of the UK\u2019s engineers are female is a tough pill to swallow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Society\u2019s initial journal outlined its aims to \u2018encourage and stimulate all women who are interested in engineering\u2019, but today\u2019s figures show that it\u2019s often hard to see these efforts come to fruition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what can be done to nurture talent in this milestone year?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state of industry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK has the lowest percentage of female engineers in Europe. As it stands, this figure isn\u2019t set to rise any time soon. It\u2019s estimated that less than 8% of engineering and manufacturing apprentices are female, with figures plunging to as low as 2% in the building and construction sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the UK needs to significantly increase its number of engineers. The STEM skills shortage is costing businesses \u00a31.5 billion in recruitment every year. For the engineering sector to reduce its skills shortage, it needs to employ around 186,000 recruits each year until 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Role models<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To inspire the future, we should reflect on the past. A lack of role models is often cited as a reason why women shy away from a career in this industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the reality is that our engineering heroines are often unsung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pressures of war drew many women to the home front, only for them to experience rebuke once men returned. In resistance, the founders of WES created a committee that promotes engineering as a rewarding profession for women as well as men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original members of the group paved the way for women in industry. Renowned for her adventures as a pilot, Amy Johnson was a qualified engineer and WES president from 1933-34. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson\u2019s campaigning inspired others such as Dorothy Spicer, another society member and the first person to hold all four types of aeronautic licenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it\u2019s a female Doctor at the helm of the Tardis, or a woman encouraging the next generation of engineers, prominent role models need to be realised as figures of inspiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Striking the balance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we are to progress, we must strive for a more balanced workforce that reflects the diversity of our society and invests in the development of all talented workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKinsey\u2019s Delivering Through Diversity<\/em> report states that many companies struggle to increase the representation of diverse talent and create truly inclusive organisational cultures to profit from diversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet data from 2017 found that companies in the top-quartile for gender diversity on their executive teams were 21% more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To address the skills gap and boost productivity, companies need to act to diversify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next generation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

International Women in Engineering day takes place on June 23rd. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To encourage women to pursue a career in engineering, action has to begin as early as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Karen Holford, Deputy Vice Chancellor at Cardiff University and voted one of WES\u2019s most influential female engineers in 2016 explains that \u201cthe stumbling blocks are there from a very young age, such as girls not being given toy trains and cars to play with. It may sound like a small thing, but unconscious stereotyping is still holding girls back, without them even realising it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSchools must ensure that teachers have the critical skills to teach the subjects needed for a career in engineering. Finally, companies need to do more to promote flexible working for both men and women. This way we can ensure that the burden of childcare is equally shared so that women aren\u2019t out of the workplace for long periods. If we can solve these problems, I believe we\u2019ll see a big increase in women choosing engineering careers and, even better, staying in them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Women\u2019s Engineering Society will be exhibiting at Advanced Engineering<\/a><\/strong> from 30th-31st October 2019 at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advanced Engineering brings together thousands of attendees from OEMs, tier 1 manufacturers, and supply chain partners, Advanced Engineering is the UK\u2019s largest annual advanced engineering and manufacturing event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a two-day attendance of some 15,000 engineering professionals, Advanced Engineering promotes supply chain business and technology transfer across aerospace, automotive, medical technology, energy, and indeed any sector that involves high-value manufacturing, R & D and innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hetal Patel is Marketing Projects Manager for the UK\u2019s largest annual manufacturing and engineering exhibition, Advanced Engineering<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hetal Patel discusses the importance of women in engineering On 23rd June 1919, a committee of influential women sensed a new dawn. The First World War had ended, and significant steps had been taken towards women\u2019s suffrage.  The group, ranging from designers and munitions factory managers to wives of eminent engineers, rallied to found the Women\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6218,4585,4534,6069],"class_list":["post-12712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-process","tag-advanced-engineering","tag-international-women-in-engineering-day","tag-wes","tag-womens-engineering-society"],"yoast_head":"\nInspiring the female future - Engineer News Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hetal Patel discusses the importance of women in engineering\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/inspiring-the-female-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inspiring the female future - 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