National Women in Engineering Day

23 June celebrated National Women in Engineering Day, launched in the U.K. in 2014 by Women’s Engineering Society, this allowed the celebration of woman in engineering to be recognised globally. Click here for more information on National Women in Engineering Day.

At Mabbett we are pleased to have a diverse team of engineers and scientists. Acknowledging the astonishing fact that <10% of U.K. Engineers are women*, led by our female engineers and scientists we have established a Women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) task force to promote females in STEM through our community engagement programmes.

During the last year we have undertaken activity both internally and externally to raise awareness of the role of females in STEM related subjects. Some of these activities are summarised below.

Internally within Mabbett, we are taking a number of steps to emphasise the important role that woman play within our own workforce and address the ‘gender balance’ in STEM subjects. Activities include:

• an update session on ‘Women in STEM’ activity at our bi-annual staff training days to raise and retain awareness amongst Mabbett staff and encourage contribution from all of our staff, not just females.
• inclusion of a female staff member on the interview panel when interviewing for STEM positions.
• increased awareness of the public image portrayed by Mabbett, addressing gender neutrality as part of public image – reviewing and updating images on our website to illustrate the diversity of our own workforce.

Externally over the last year our female engineers and scientists have been engaging in a range of activities with children and young adults in primary and higher education to raise awareness of STEM subjects and to inspire and encourage female students into careers in STEM subjects. Activities undertaken include:

• local school engagement – attendance at Primary and Secondary School careers fairs and delivering careers presentations.
• support for the Go4SET project – student coaching and as regional and national judges for the student project awards. Click here for more information on the Go4SET project.

Mabbett is proud to support our local community and future workforce through willingly giving of our time and expertise so others see a difference.

For more information on our community engagement strategy, internships and placement opportunities, contact Suzanne Lindsay, lindsay@mabbett.eu

* The U.K. has the lowest percentage of female engineering professionals in Europe, at less than 10%, while Latvia, Bulgaria and Cyprus lead with nearly 30%. — source: Quote from Vince Cable says UK economy hampered by lack of female engineers, The Guardian, 4 Nov 2013.