I dropped Biology as soon as I was able. I did very well at Chemistry and Physics at GCSE but never considered taking them further and certainly never considered any kind of engineering-based degree as, by then, my subject choices were not compatible.
Yet in day to day life I feel I spend my time waiting for a plumber to have availability or, as with this week, chasing round to find a boiler expert who can restore the hot water to a house that was recently struck by lightning. That, to me, is an engineer and oh my, so many times I wish that instead of my degree I had trained as a plumber. From my vantage point as a person-in-need-of-a-plumber, they get well paid, work very family-compatible hours and are never short of work.
As a mother of girls I am more conscious than ever of the need to not write off subjects too early, to keep ideas of subjects and careers open as options for my daughters. There is no such thing really as a “man’s job” or a “woman’s job” these days. My father is one of the fastest typists I know. The person painting my house currently is a woman. I know female QCs and I chat to stay at home dads in the playground.
Girls make future career decisions aged 8-12. We need to get into schools and show it to have a positive impact on society #NWED nwed
— Kelly Innes (@domesticgoddesq) June 23, 2015
So I welcomed the opportunity recently to attend a roundtable discussion with British Gas at one of my favourite event venues in London- Beaufort House in Chelsea- on National Women in Engineering Day. The almost-entirely female panel opened my eyes to the nature of engineering now and the changing landscape of the profession as it strives to redress the perception that it is a male-centric profession.
If parents say “engineering’s not for you” then any work in school can be undone @dawnbonfield1 #NWED #NWED15 — Super Kat (@thatkat) June 23, 2015
On the speaking panel included Dr Arti Agrawal, a lecturer at City University specialising in optical fibres; Dawn Bonfield, president of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) and materials engineer; Nadia Abbas, British Gas engineer and success coach; and Claire Miles, managing director of British Gas Homecare. They discussed female role models in the field of engineering- surprisingly the 40’s screen siren Hedy Lamarr is responsible for some of the technology still used in today’s mobile phones- and the challenges they have come across in such an industry. But they talked too about the need for the industry to adapt, to keep the females engineers it costs hundreds of thousands of pounds to train, to accommodate not just women with families but also women with differing skill sets.
In which someone gives me a microphone and I ask an insightful question…
Changing environment that will lead to growth in new engineering roles needing different skill set #NWED@BritishGasMedia — Kelly Innes (@domesticgoddesq) June 23, 2015
As technology becomes smarter there will be just as significant a need for Emotional Intelligence as well as IQ. The technologies our children will use in their careers have yet to be invented, but they are the generation that adapts very quickly to the changing technology platforms, so they will make ideal engineers. It seems the conventional need for maths and science as starting point for a career in Engineering is waning. Which is excellent news for those of us who realise long after they’ve done their A-levels that they should have made different career decisions. As we all live longer, the notion of more than one career is something everyone will embrace. Being able to approach an industry like the vast engineering spectrum, from a sideways angle is music to this mother’s ears.
Youth thrives on technology: perfect future engineers #NWED @BritishGasMedia
— Kelly Innes (@domesticgoddesq) June 23, 2015
Youngsters these days are brought up with technology so it should be easier going forward to bring females into the field #NWED
— Leanne (@brokeinthesmoke) June 23, 2015
Further posts about Women in Engineering, including some related to the event I attended:
British Gas Women in Engineering Panel Event
#girlpower National Women in Engineering Day
10 Reasons our daughters should be Engineers.
Women in Engineering: Progress is not set in stone
I am very conscious of this, having both a daughter and a son. Although, at 3 and 5, they’ve already slotted into some stereotypical gender roles – she says pink is her favourite colour, he likes blue – I’m determined that, when it comes to schooling, they should be treated equally. This must have been a fascinating discussion. Thanks for sharing.