Last week marked International Women in Engineering Day. An international awareness campaign aiming to highlight the fantastic women who are, literally, building our world. Now, more than ever, we’re seeing women dominating what were once heavily male workplaces. Last year, the Women’s Engineering Society recorded that 14.5% of engineers in the UK were women.
Fast forward to 2022 and that figure has risen to 16.5%. With that in mind, women in engineering are still highly underrepresented within their field. Here at Masterhitch, we design and develop state of the art excavator attachments, quick hitches and bespoke products mainly for our customers within the construction industry.
We are a team of engineering experts, many of whom are women, and today we want to help break down the barriers to encourage more girls and women into engineering careers. This year, International Women in Engineering Day aims to celebrate the amazing work that women engineers around the world are doing to support lives everyday. The event is hosted by The Women’s Engineering Society and this year’s theme is “Inventors and Innovators.”
A recent report from the House of Commons revealed that companies with a higher percentage of female leaders outperformed those dominated by men. In a post-pandemic world, the research shows that women should be supported in pursuing career opportunities in a wide range of industries.
For years women have been underrepresented in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) university courses and occupations. How can we change this?
Why is there a lack of women in engineering?
A big role in creating equal work opportunities lies within education. Throughout history, STEM subjects have typically been considered masculine. This has led to a society of young girls distancing themselves with STEM education.
Data from the Department of Education shows that more girls stated they disliked STEM school subjects than their male peers. In fact, only 33% of girls within this research believed they performed well in STEM subjects, compared to 60% of boys. However, this doesn’t reflect their actual abilities.
The same research shows that 68% of girls achieved great marks when compared to 65% of the boys. This clearly shows that girls are no less capable of pursuing careers they enjoy. And not just ones they believe they are capable of doing.
Encouraging girls to take part in STEM subjects at school will pave the way for them to enter construction, engineering and science-lead fields. Alongside this, having more visible female role models for girls interested in STEM would also help.
Even girls who do enjoy STEM subjects at primary or secondary school are often left without any real life examples of women in engineering. Back in the second world war there was a serious problem with the Rolls Royce Merlin engines. Which would cause them to misfire or cut out.
Despite having a whole team of engineers within the Royal Aircraft Establishment working to fix the problem, no one could. That was until Beatrice Shilling designed a brilliant solution which permanently fixed the engines. Who would have thought that the saviour would be a female engineer rather than her male counterparts?
For girls and young women considering entering a career in engineering, it is vital for them to have role models they can relate to.
About Masterhitch Europe Ltd
Since being founded over 30 years ago, many changes have been made. However, our core values remain the same. We want to provide our customers with ground-breaking products. All of which are made to the highest standards with safety in mind at all times.
Alternatively, check out our types of excavator attachments and buckets available!