Can the female engineer in the world?
International Women in Engineering Day is celebrated every year on the 23rdthe third June This theme of the years is Engineering Heroes (# IWED21), which enables us to celebrate the amazing achievements of women globally and demonstrate that Women can truly engineer BOTN. So, lets take a brief look at the achievements of some of these female engineering heroes, both in normal times and during the current pandemic:  DAME PROFESSOR ANN DOWLING is a Mechanical Engineer who was the first woman to be appointed as a Professor in the Department of Engineering at Cambridge University and President of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Its research focuses on efficient low-emission combustion and aircraft noise reduction. DR SWATI MOHAN is an Aircraft Engineer and Command and Control Operations on NASAs Mars 2020 mission, responsible for ensuring that the spacecraft carrying the rover was properly oriented during its voyage to Mars and when it landed on the planets surface, World Touchdown confirmed ..  MAJOR ANGELA LAYCOCK has served as a Royal Engineer Officer who studied Engineering at Cambridge University, sponsored by the Army. She has operational experience in Iraq as a construction project manager. In the last 2 years she has supported UK Sustainability by settling on the Whaley Bridge following the collapse of the dam at Toddbrook Reservoir and in Birmingham for the construction of Nightingale Hospital. Ashley Lotola is a 3M systems engineering specialist who led a team of systems engineers scaling new equipment as part of the Covid-19 response. Priority has been given to the production of respirators to provide healthcare personnel, first responders and other critical PPE workers needed to do their job. While acknowledging the success of these women and so many others, the fact remains that, according to the Gender Report of the World Economic Forums, worldwide only 15% of the professional engineering workforce are women. Of course, girls in school usually do just as well (if not better) as boys in subjects like math and science (such as physics) and the same is true when it comes to engineering degrees. All the evidence that women can engineer the world. This further contradicts the view of Lawrence Summers, the then President of Harvard University, who, in a 2005 speech, attributed the under-representation of women in engineering (and science) to a different availability of skills. after all. Surprisingly perhaps, this statement led to a host of initiatives to encourage women in engineering (and science). My principal advised me that civil engineering is not a career for a young lady. which only served to galvanize me to prove she was wrong. I do not think she was doubting my academic ability, but had a stereotypical view where engineering is synonymous with masculinity; this social prejudice still exists today. Career advice can be poor (and not just for girls, as I recently discussed engineering career with a young guy). Other factors include peer pressure on girls, lack of support from parents and teachers, and a general misunderstanding about what an engineering career entails. The term engineer is much broader than many people imagine. Engineers create new technologies and develop solutions. A UNESCO report has identified more than 50 areas of engineering and focused on its contributions to sustainable human, social and economic development. According to the Royal Academy of Engineering, engineers have a vital role to play in our efforts to achieve the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. According to a recent study, along with UNESCO, the biggest challenges facing the world now are issues around cyberspace, climate change and pandemics, with a global shortage of engineering talent now and in the future being a concern of large, and so engineers need to be pulled out of a larger pool than they currently are. Women also usually bring a different perspective to a problem, seek to work with a team rather than dictate, and they are also often more innovative and imaginative. Diversity (in all its forms) enhances team performance. If we can reach a critical mass, this will encourage more women to be engineers. The contribution of current (and indeed former) female engineers as role models is very important in inspiring future generations of girls whom we need to engineer the world. Growing up, I had a model in my cousin that he is male, but, without his influence, I would not have chosen to be an engineer but how much better it is when our role models are female. Soroptimist International believes that stronger encouragement for women and girls to reduce digital gender segregation should be undertaken and further STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education should be undertaken. Many Clubs are working on projects to make girls aware of the opportunities that STEM can offer, so they no longer automatically reject STEM but make an informed decision about their career choice. In the late 19thth century, the Chief Engineer in charge of building the Brooklyn Bridge was locked in bed. His wife, EMILY ROEBLING, already had an extensive knowledge of structural analysis and she then spent the next ten years overseeing the completion of the bridge, thus demonstrating almost 140 years ago that Women could Engineering the World. Since then many women have provided more evidence that this is so, but we need more women to join us so that we can say with confidence that Women make engineers in the world. Margaret Emsley  President of the Past Federation