On 23rd June, AWE celebrated International Women in Engineering Day – an international awareness campaign which raises the profile of women in engineering and celebrates the amazing things women engineers do. The day also serves to inspire others to embark on a career in engineering.
Celebrating its 8th year, International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) began in the UK in 2014 as a national campaign from the Women’s Engineering Society. Since then, INWED has grown enormously, receiving UNESCO patronage in 2016 and going truly global the following year.
This year’s theme was ‘Engineering Heroes’ – an opportunity to profile the best, brightest and bravest women in engineering. Below our CEO and MD, Alison Atkinson, discusses some of the women who inspired her. During the day, AWE staff could view an array of videos discussing this year’s theme. A ‘speed mentoring’ event also took place – pairing up female engineering mentors and mentees – to help inspire and support colleagues. On social media we profiled some of our incredible women engineers who are playing their part in encouraging others to consider engineering as a career option.
One of AWE’s key commitments is encouraging more girls into engineering from an early age. Our network of STEM Ambassadors support the national STEM learning programme across the UK to inspire young minds across the country and showcase the exciting world of STEM and the opportunities it can bring.