BSRIA is celebrating National Women in Engineering Day (NWED) on Thursday 23 June to promote the subject to students in schools and universities and encourage more women into engineering.

The day is dedicated to raising the profile and celebrating the achievements of female engineers. Engineering continues to be a male-dominated profession so the third NWED is a great time to address the problem. Currently, less than 10 per cent of the engineering sector’s workforce is female and yet 64 per cent of UK engineering companies report that a shortage of engineers is threatening their business.

This untapped potential could help to fill the industry skills shortage apparent in UK engineering, as well as increasing gender diversity and inclusion. Industry experts predict that the number of UK students studying engineering degrees needs to double. But with just 15 per cent of engineering and technology undergraduates female, more needs to be done.

Remarkably, there is little gender difference in the take-up of and achievement in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) GCSE subjects.

BSRIA chief executive Julia Evans (pictured right) said: “Employers are realising that ‘female friendly’ policies, such as flexible working, go a long way to help attract women. But we also need to change young women’s (and their parents’) mind-sets to realise that engineering offers a wide range of exciting opportunities and career development. Engineers and technicians touch every part of life.”

She added: “By encouraging girls into engineering careers we will not only be increasing diversity and inclusion – a business imperative – but enabling us to fill the substantial future job opportunities that have been predicted in this sector.

“BSRIA is very supportive of women going into engineering and proud to be employing many female engineers itself who are flourishing.”