Engineering has not been a women friendly environment - is that about to change?

A report in 2017 from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers entitled Stay or Go focused on the experience of female engineers early in their career. The report strongly suggested the sector had “a very masculine narrative”.

Female engineers are regularly mocked, told to “toughen up” and assumed to be administrative staff, the report found, with 63% saying they experienced unacceptable behaviour or comments – three-times that in finance or medicine.

Almost 40% of UK female engineers stated that they were simply not treated equally – including by their managers, the people they managed or by their peers. Over 60% believed it was easier for men to progress within the engineering sector – marginally higher than in finance, but significantly higher than in medicine.

Surveyed women reported inappropriate behaviour, such as male staff scoring female colleagues for sexual attractiveness and hanging porn around work sites. Statistics also revealed that female engineers were restricted before careers even began, with half leaving the profession after completing degrees.

2019 is showing a radically improved picture

Significant effort is being made to raise the profile of engineering amongst women and celebrate their contribution to the profession. High profile personalities are getting involved. Jenson Button, the former Formula One champion and Santander UK ambassador appeared alongside a host of high-profile speakers at the Formula Student World Finals at Silverstone, run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He said “female engineers are already making a big difference in motorsport, but that we need a far higher percentage in order to address imbalances. I’ve worked with very competitive women at the highest levels of engineering, but we need many more to enter the field" Button argued.

A number of high-profile publicity initiatives have already taken place. Backed by the Women’s Engineering Society and sponsored by Scottish Power, the Top 50 Women in Engineering initiative aims to boost female uptake of engineering roles and careers by celebrating the notable achievements made by women in the sector. The most recent winners were noted in a supplement with the Sunday Telegraph on 24 June 2018. See list.

Women already in the profession are also playing their part. Kerry Knight, Mechanical and Electrical Fitter with BAE Systems, Lesley MacRury, Network & Communications Manager at Scottish Power are amongst a raft of female engineers working hard to promote their profession.

Hopefully this will be a new dawn for women in engineering

If you are a female working in engineering, what have your experiences been? I would love to hear your comments.