• Question: are there many women engineers

    Asked by 752smaj26 to Alessandra, Dimitrios, Niamh, Becky, Stacey, Tony on 10 Jun 2017.
    • Photo: Niamh Ryall

      Niamh Ryall answered on 10 Jun 2017:

      In overall numbers, according to Women In Science and Engineering campaign, there are 802,848!

      These days, there are a lot more, which is great.
      One of the problems is to get people to take STEM subjects to A-level. About 40% of maths A level students are female but only about 20% of physics.

      Anecdotally, of the desks around mine at work there are 3 women and 2 men. I have one male and one female supervisor and I don’t think I am treated any differently for being a woman.

      But I work in a university. One campaign group say less than 9% of the engineering workforce are women. It may be harder for women in workplaces where there are a lot less women, but there are loads of companies out there desperate for good engineers so most female engineers report being happy in their jobs and will earn a good salary. It’s never bothered me being in a “male dominated” profession, but other people might feel differently. I think it was much much harder for women in the past than it is now and most women I know in STEM areas are my age so haven’t come across any problems (yet!).

    • Photo: Stacey Marple

      Stacey Marple answered on 10 Jun 2017:

      Hi 752smaj26, only 9% of the engineering workforce is female, however I don’t find my work areas male dominated. I also do not believe I am treated any differently to my male colleagues. I let my skills and experiences shine through and I love my career. Always be yourself and do the job you want and makes you happy.

    • Photo: Rebecca Bennett

      Rebecca Bennett answered on 11 Jun 2017:

      In the field of textiles yes.
      Textile engineering is a small industry and so we work together and look out for each other, its a good community.

    • Photo: Alessandra Treviso

      Alessandra Treviso answered on 12 Jun 2017:

      Unfortunately not as many as there can be but it’s much better than when I started university.
      Composite materials is quite a good field though. I would like to have more female co-workers though. My exerience so far is that in certain fields there is more competition than support among women and it makes it intimidating for young women engineers at the beginning of their carrer.
      I can already see some changes and I hope that for your generation things will be a lot better.

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