International Women's Day
Happy International Women’s Day! This year the International Women’s Day’s campaign theme is Embrace Equity. The organisers state that ‘The aim of the IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity campaign theme is to get the world talking about why equal opportunities aren’t enough. People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action.’ Equality and equity are often confused with each other. Whilst similar in theme, equality means to treat everyone the same, whilst equity considers the fact that some individuals may have experienced specific disadvantages on the route to the same outcome.
This is a subject that is close to our heart, particularly working within the engineering industry. Despite advances over the years, statistics show that there are still vastly fewer women within engineering compared to men, particularly in the UK. Studies by The Society of Women in Engineering state that 9.5% of women entering university education intend to major in STEM and of those women over 32% will transfer to a non-STEM subject by the end of their degree. Of those that do graduate with a bachelor’s degree in engineering, only 30% are still working in engineering twenty years later and 30% of those that have left claim they did so due to ‘organisational climate’. *
Advances are being made within the industry. Engineering UK reports that in 2010 only 10% of those working in engineering roles were women however by 2021 this had risen to 16.5%. In numbers – this equates to 936,000 women in the industry in 2021 compared to just 562,000 women in 2010. However, it still doesn’t feel enough, with the reports showing just 25.4% of girls aged 16-18 would consider a career in engineering compared to 51.9% of boys of the same age and the UK has the lowest percentage of female engineering professionals in Europe… but why?
Does the UK present more barriers to women than other European countries? Sexism in the workplace has certainly been a massive issue. In the past women were often led to believe that engineering was a ‘man’s job’. The industry has worked hard to break down this barrier and we believe this has been achieved. IET’s ‘Engineering and Technology’ report that most teenagers believe that engineering is a career path for all and of the 16-18 years olds they interviewed, girls do not question their ability to succeed within the sector. However, with such a high number of women leaving the sector once they graduate, it is believed sexism is still very much at play. In 2017 a study by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) entitled ‘Stay or Go’ interviewed 558 women and found that females within the early stages of their UK engineering career were exposed to more cases of discrimination and harassment than any other sector. ‘Sixty-three per cent of participants experienced unacceptable behaviour or comments (approximately three times more than experienced by women in the financial or medical professions) and 20 per cent said they had witnessed similar actions directed at others.
IET’s ‘Engineering & Technology’ also reports that civil engineer Jessica Green feels engineering also doesn’t hold the same prestige that other careers within the construction sector hold, such as architecture, and part of the problem may well be the lack of strong female engineering role models and the fact that women are vastly underrepresented within the industry.
Here at SOLID, we are determined to break the women in engineering mould that the UK holds and will endeavour to do all we can to encourage women to follow an engineering path, supporting them wherever necessary. We enjoy attending university career fairs and offer work experience and student placements to encourage young people to see first hand what life as an engineer can be like. We offer a flexible working environment to fit around busy home lives and enjoy socialising together outside of the workplace. Our 2022 placement student Claudia testifies –
‘Beyond SOLID’s fascinating projects, its most valuable asset are the people that make up this remarkable company. With immediate involvement on projects, and responsibility being passed on from early stages, it has allowed me to mature as an Engineer and develop my confidence not solely in this field, but as a person too. The amiable and humble employees that make up SOLID are the core of what throttles this company’s accomplishments.
With an outpouring of ideas and knowledge from an integrated team, I have truly learned the value of collaborative working in our industry. Working at SOLID is equally as rewarding as it is challenging. Having colleagues with a wealth of knowledge and experience up their sleeves has stretched my development as an Engineer and has given me new motivations to thrive in this field. In summary, placing here has been the greatest blessing of my career!’
Our 2023 placement student Emmanuella looks forward to sharing her own story later in the year on why she is choosing a path in engineering and the journey she has made to get thus far in her career.
This International Women’s Day we will be celebrating the amazing women that help make SOLID a successful business, and will continue to do so every day, as always. We are proud of all our team members and couldn’t do what we do without them.