NEWSFROM THE
Since its inception, International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) has focused attention on the range of opportunities for women in engineering. INWED celebrates the outstanding achievements of women engineers across the world and in 2018, the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) has chosen the theme, Raising The Bar. A national Women in
Engineering Day (WED) was held on 23 June 2014 by WES to celebrate its 95th anniversary, receiving UNESCO patronage in 2016. Then, having grown to international status, it was expanded and International was added to the name in 2017. This year marks almost a
century of WES, which was founded in 1919 in response to changing attitudes to women at
A round-up of news provided by the Society to keep its members informed
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN IN ENGINEERING DAY AUGUST 2018
work during the aftermath of the First World War.
HISTORY OF WES One of the founding members of WES, Rachel Mary Parsons (1885– 1956), an engineer and advocate for women’s employment rights, was also its founding president from 1919–1921. A strong advocate for engineering and for all women’s rights to work, she was a leading member of the National Council of Women and campaigned for equal access for all to technical schools and colleges. In 1910 she entered
Cambridge University’s Newnham College and was one of the first three women to study Mechanical Sciences there. However, like all women until 1948, she could not graduate with a degree or
become a full member of the University. In the early days of the First World War, she replaced her brother as a director of their father’s business, the Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company. While there, she oversaw the recruitment and training of women to replace the men who had left to join the armed forces. Following her brother’s death, her father refused to keep her in the role, causing a permanent split in the family. After finishing university, in
1918 Parsons became a lifelong member of The Royal Institution of Great Britain, joining the Royal Institute of International Affairs in 1921 and the Royal Institution of Naval Architects in 1922. She also gained a Master Mariner’s Certificate. In 1920 she was one of a group of eight women who founded the engineering company Atalanta, whose employees were all women, with her mother, Lady Parsons (an eminent engineer in her own right and another founding member of WES), as chair. Other founding members of
WES included women engineers such as Margaret Partridge, an
CASE STUDIES
Catherine Cobb BEng(Hons) EngTech TMICE MIHE is a traffic signals graduate engineer with Amey and a winner of the Bill Hales Award. She is also a Scope Ambassador at Amey, promoting inclusion and diversity for disabled employees. “What I find most enjoyable
about my job is the knowledge that I have made the roads safe with the signals that I have designed.” Blessing Danha CEng MICE is
a programme manager at KPMG, working on the government’s Strategic Road Network Roads Investment Strategy 2, a STEM ambassador and triathlete. “I am a people person and I
really love the soft skills elements of this job: it’s about
20 /// Environmental Engineering /// September 2018
diplomacy and relationship building. I take pride in being a Chartered Civil Engineer and I was encouraged to become active within the Institution of Civil Engineers and I quickly reaped the rewards through networking and knowledge sharing.” Lucy Mawer EngTech MCIPHE
RP QTLS is the head of plumbing with the University Academy Holbeach in Spalding, Lincolnshire and a member of Women Leading in Education. “I believe it is important that
technical ability is recognised with the right qualifications. Academic learning provides the foundation of knowledge for graduates, but practical, on-site experience leads to the development of well-rounded and competent engineers.
electrical engineer who owned and ran one of the earliest electrical power stations in the UK, and Dame Caroline Haslett, the first secretary of the WES in 1919 and its president in 1941. In 1924 Partridge and Haslett became joint-founders of the Women’s Electrical Association (WEA), later known as the Electrical Association for Women (EAW). WES had government backing
to support women engineers who were welcomed into the profession supporting the war effort during the First World War. However, after the war women were discouraged from continuing with their careers, leaving work available for returning veterans. The WES not only resisted this pressure but also promoted engineering as a rewarding job for women as well as men and continues to do so. It also celebrates excellence and achievement through awards and grants schemes. It is aiming higher than ever in 2018. To mark International Women in Engineering Day, the Engineering Council is highlighting the careers of a small selection of women.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
