Knowledge
Nurturing
talent
ON 23RD JUNE 1919, A COMMITTEE OF
INFLUENTIAL WOMEN SENSED A NEW DAWN. THE
FIRST WORLD WAR HAD ENDED, AND A GROUP
OF WOMEN, RANGING FROM DESIGNERS TO
MUNITIONS FACTORY MANAGERS TO WIVES OF
PROMINENT ENGINEERS, RALLIED TO FOUND THE
WOMEN’S ENGINEERING SOCIETY (WES).
“One hundred years later, progress for women
in industry has often felt stagnant,”
Below, Hetal Patel, marketing projects
manager for the UK’s largest annual
manufacturing and engineering exhibition
– Advanced Engineering – discusses the
importance of women in engineering. Having
celebrated the Women’s Engineering Society’s
centenary earlier this year, Hetal ‘finds the
fact that only 11% of the UK’s engineers are
female is a tough pill to swallow’ and asks
what can be done to nurture talent in this
milestone year?
The state of industry
‘Not expected to rise any time soon’, the UK
has the lowest percentage of female engineers
in Europe with only an estimated 8% of
engineering and manufacturing apprentices
being female; with figures plunging as low as
2% in the building and construction sector.
With the STEM skills shortage costing
businesses £1.5 billion in recruitment every
year, the UK needs to significantly increase its
number of engineers with the goal being to
employ around 186,000 recruits each year until
2024.
Role models
A lack of role models is often cited as a reason
why women shy away from a career in this
industry. However, the reality is that our
engineering heroines are often unsung.
The pressures of war drew many women
to the home front, only for them to experience
rebuke once men returned. The founders of
WES created a committee that promotes
engineering as a rewarding profession for
women as well as men, with the original
members paving the way for women.
Renowned for her adventures as a pilot,
Amy Johnson was a qualified engineer and
WES president from 1933-34. Johnson’s
campaigning inspired others such as Dorothy
Spicer, who became the first person to hold all
four types of aeronautic licenses.
Whether it’s a female Doctor at the helm
of the Tardis, or a woman encouraging the
next generation of engineers, prominent role
models are needed as figures of inspiration.
“WITH THE STEM
SKILLS SHORTAGE
COSTING BUSINESSES
£1.5 BILLION IN
RECRUITMENT EVERY
YEAR, THE UK NEEDS
TO SIGNIFICANTLY
INCREASE ITS NUMBER
OF ENGINEERS WITH THE
GOAL BEING TO EMPLOY
AROUND 186,000
RECRUITS EACH YEAR
UNTIL 2024”
Striking the balance
We must strive for a more balanced workforce
that reflects the diversity of our society and
invests in the development of all talented
workers.
McKinsey’s Delivering Through Diversity
report states that many companies struggle to
increase the representation of diverse talent,
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. To address the skills gap
and boost productivity, companies need to act
to diversify.
The next generation
According to professor Karen Holford, deputy
vice chancellor at Cardiff University, and one
of WES’s most influential female engineers,
‘the 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.’
“Schools 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’t out
of the workplace for long periods. If we can
solve these problems, I believe we’ll see a
big increase in women choosing engineering
careers and, even better, staying in them.”
Calgary-based Inter Pipeline is investing
$580,000 over three years to provide
pre-apprenticeship training to women in
Alberta’s industrial heartland. The new
funding supports ongoing efforts from
recruitment to support after graduation to
help women succeed in careers where they
have been traditionally under-represented.
Last year 186 women graduated from the
Women Building Futures programme with
90% employed within the first six months
of graduation.
Fuel Oil News | December 2019 17