This year’s International Women in Engineering Day feels as though it has come around super fast. That’s partly due to the fact that the TCT calendar is so chockfull we’re always looking towards the next big event, but also because recently, I have seen a lot more activity around supporting women in STEM outside of this one day of the year, whether that’s been speaking with Nora Toure, founder of Women in 3D Printing about her ambitions with the group or watching Dr. Ramille Shah talk at RAPID + TCT about her lab’s groundbreaking research – which is exactly how things should be moving.
Still, the facts remain potent, in the UK, Women make up fewer than 10% of the entire engineering sector according to recent statistics from the Women’s Engineering Society, which launched the first National Women In Engineering Day in 2014. That may sound like a shocking number but that’s actually grown by 1% since last year, demonstrating that change is definitely happening, just not as quickly as we might like. Understanding why that is (as our Group Editor, Dan O’Connor discusses in this month’s editor’s letter) and telling the stories of women already leading the charge, is imperative in underlining the opportunities and showcasing why there are lots of great reasons for more women to be entering the industry. As the Women In Engineering event turns into an international movement year, that message is being heard louder than ever.
At Autodesk University in London this week, I met two recent engineering graduates from the University of Warwick, Liz and Melisa, who were both integral to the team that produced a UAV for mountain search and rescue, on display at the event. The UAV project is a good example of the multiple facets of engineering that probably remain unconsidered upon first look. There are elements of design, electronics, systems engineering, additive manufacturing and more that go into making a complex system like this function and that’s something that should be shouted from the rooftops to provide a broader understanding of what being an engineer, ‘a maker’, actually means.
“It's just the design and make aspect,” Liz told me on choosing this particular career path due to a love of maths and physics. “I've always loved building things and finding out how things work. I've never been deterred, I've always done what I wanted to do and it's about having those opportunities.”
Melisa working on University of Warwick UAV.
However, Liz explained that coming from an all-girls school, the pathways into the field were not made as explicit as those of other sciences such as biology, suggesting the need for “more excitement at a younger age to get girls involved”.
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Exhibit at the UK's definitive and most influential 3D printing and additive manufacturing event, TCT 3Sixty.
For Melisa, engineering has always been a passion, opting to undertake various electronics, physics and maths-based subjects since high school and she believes a key part in encouraging more girls into the field is by allowing them to find their passion.
“It's very varied,” says Melisa. “Electronics is really accessible now, if you pick up like an Arduino there's quite low level programming and you can just do what you want, it's really easy.”
Liz added: “Just have a go, even if you think you might not like it, at least give it a try.”
But there are other ways of getting into the field that don’t necessarily require a university-level engineering qualification, as Jan Doodson, Powder Process Technician at metal powder specialist LPW Technology, told TCT. Jan has been working in additive manufacturing for four years but her path into her current role wasn’t necessarily traditional.
“Although I trained in graphic and textile design, I’ve always had an interest in hands-on engineering – how things work and how they fit together,” Jan explained. “I’ve actually worked as a car mechanic, although when I initially started at LPW I was temping as a cleaner. I could see there was a lot of opportunity to progress here, and I was intrigued by the machinery and the work that was being undertaken. I applied for a job and now I’m operating and maintaining the very machines that piqued my interest.”
Jan with one of the many machines she operates and maintains.
Jan says there is “no such thing as an average day” in her role, citing blending metal powders, operating the argon chamber for highly reactive materials or ensuring particle sizes conform to specification as just a handful of the responsibilities she holds.
“There are so many opportunities in engineering and additive manufacturing, and an almost unlimited potential to train, up-skill and progress,” says Jan. “The key skills to bring with you are a willingness to learn, as rapid advances in technology mean every industry is constantly evolving; assertiveness, to ensure your voice is heard; and a really good sense of humour!”
Speaking about efforts to encourage more women into the sector, Jan says things are improving and she believes there is now a lot more media representation of women in STEM roles to keep up the momentum and have a real impact on current statistics. One of the key factors she cites in facilitating this is the importance of education.
“The focus in education is really making a difference – of the three new apprentices here at LPW, one is female,” Jan commented. “However, whilst the STEM initiative is a positive way to encourage more women and girls into engineering, giving them practical life-skills and the confidence to realise they can do anything they set their minds to is just as important.”
Today a new toolkit has been launched by WISE to help businesses close the skills gap in the construction, engineering, technology and manufacturing sectors by recruiting more women through apprenticeships. The organisation, which campaigns to get more women into STEM careers, has created the toolkit in partnership with Semta and the Institution of Civil Engineers, to provide businesses with information, tips, case studies and resources to assist them in engaging with women and girls.
Speaking with TCT, WISE CEO Helen Wollaston explained: “Most girls switch off physical sciences, engineering, technology and maths because they find the subjects boring and irrelevant to things they care about. Those that do choose science are much more likely to want to be vets or doctors than engineers. Despite hundreds of STEM outreach programmes in schools, the number of girls choosing to stick with these subjects post 16 remains much lower than in other parts of the world. All too often girls who want to do physics or computer science find they are the only girl in the class – which can be daunting at the age of 16.”
WISE
Helen Wollaston, WISE CEO
Despite recent growth in the number of apprenticeships and an increase of 13,000 more women in technical roles last year, the number of women taking up apprenticeships in engineering and technology related fields has remained much lower. Overall, women only make up 21% of the core STEM workforce and this toolkit, available to download for free from today is designed to support businesses in turning that around.
Helen continues: “Some organisations have managed to recruit above average numbers of girls and women onto their digital, engineering, construction and manufacturing apprenticeship programmes. They usually find the women thrive – outperforming their male counterparts and becoming passionate advocates for the next generation of girls to follow in their footsteps. We have collated their stories in an online toolkit to show employers, colleges and others offering STEM apprenticeships what they can do to attract, engage, support and retain women. We’re hoping that lots of companies will take it up and we’ll start to see numbers rising in the future so we have lots more women engineers, surveyors and scientists.”
Great things are happening in STEM related initiatives and individual businesses all around the world, both to inspire young girls and make sure organisations are retaining and supporting their best female talent. Today these things should be celebrated but there is always room for more to be done, which is exactly why International Women in Engineering Day continues to exist to “focus attention on the great opportunities for women in engineering, at a time when it has never been more important to address the engineering skills shortage.” Hear, hear!
