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Jason Ford
Jason Ford
News Editor
Women engineers, energy and nuclear waste
This week sees the Women Into Science, Engineering & Construction Awards taking place on Wednesday at IET in London.
Those of you familiar with The Engineer’s recent Women in Engineering supplement will have read Chi Onwurah MP’s assertion that out of the approximately 13 million working women in Britain only 5.3 per cent are employed in SET occupations. Compare this to almost one third of the UK’s 15.4 million male employees and you can see that WISE has something of a task on its hands.
The organization works with industry and education to inspire girls and attract them into STEM studies and careers. It seeks to alter the mindset of girls who don’t believe they’d be welcome in a technical career and does this via inspirational resources for girls, their teachers and parents; plus outreach days and work experience packages in companies.
Awards up for grabs include The WISE Excellence Award, WISE Champion Award and WISE Advisor Award. Good luck to all those shortlisted!
Birmingham this week hosts the World Class Process Safety Management for Power Generation.
The event, which takes place between October 18-20, aims to address issues in new build, mid-life and maturing assets, looking at how power plant operators execute a cost effective operation that maximises plant flexibility, life, and profitability.
The organiser cautions that without the implementation of robust process safety and integrity assurance principles, any commercial gains could be seriously jeopardised.
Attendees will learn how to apply the principles of process safety from industries such as oil and gas and chemicals as well as adopt the lessons learned from the nuclear industry. HSE will be on hand too to discuss health and safety strategy for power generators.
Confirmed case studies include Process Safety in the Nuclear Industry from Ian Seddon, head of health, safety, and environment, EDF Energy Nuclear Generation.
If EDF’s Sizewell B is anything to go by then it would appear that health and safety is fully ingrained into all that pass through its turnstiles.
Loughborough University hosts Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste: Underpinning Science and Technology for Radioactive Waste from tomorrow.
The conference will bring together a number of distinguished, learned societies to showcase and publish research relevant to radioactive waste storage/disposal.
Specialists will be able to discuss the chemical, geological, hydrological, materials, engineering and other scientific/technological issues associated with the long term management of radioactive waste in the UK.
Wednesday sees the closing date for proposals from organizations seeking funding to develop sustainable materials for energy.
The call has went out in August to collaborative projects involving researchers from the US and UK under the Partnerships for International Research and Education programme (PIRE).
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) says it expects to contribute up to £500,000 to co-fund between 2-3 projects. EPSRC expects to contribute up to £850,000.
The call defined Sustainable Materials for Energy as research that addresses novel technologies and processes by focussing resource and security of supply issues; governance and regulation issues in relation to the development of new energy options and their social acceptability; economics of novel material/processing options for energy generation technologies; and opportunity costs of adopting new materials, in particular where scarce resources are used.
People at the sharp end of climate change convene in London on Thursday at a CIWEM – CMS Conference entitled Coastal Flooding and Erosion Risk Management Understanding Change: Risk and Organisational Responses.
The event’s blurb says the conference will asses the past 18 months of new guidance, legislation and the changing emphasis of the government’s policies in coastal flood and erosion risk.
Attendees will also be able to use the event to develop their understanding of the risks to coastal communities, businesses and environment and the next steps that are needed.
The myriad of topics for discussion include the impacts of climate change in relation to storminess and rising sea levels, and a presentation looking at the Adapting to Climate Change Along England’s Southern shore (ACCESS) Project.
Finally, the Chinese city of Dalian hosts the Low Carbon Earth Summit 2011 (LCES-2011) from October 19-26.
The organizers say the summit is designed to support new business development with the opportunity to learn from others experiences in this field.
Similarly, attendees will be able to identify ways to play an even more active role in the control of global climate change, whilst innovators and entrepreneurs can learn how to seize further green investment opportunities.
Readers' comments (8)
Anonymous | 17 Oct 2011 2:19 pm
I have worked with some very good female engineers in my career, none ever complained of not feeling welcome.
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Deborah Grubbe, PE, CEng., FIChemE, FAIChE | 17 Oct 2011 4:57 pm
With all due respect to the author, the work and challenge is not just for WISE. The challenge also rests with of the men, the firms, the universities and the male dominated technical societies to ensure the environment is welcoming and supportive. At the risk of being a bit controversial, it is about "sharing power for the larger success of the profession and the society: power of the purse, power of the word, and power of the decision." It will take everyone to affect a solution, not just the women.
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S. Martin | 17 Oct 2011 6:27 pm
Personally i take offence at such assertions as it is illegal to discriminate against people for reasons of gender, religion, etc. So why is this issue even being raised?
From my perspective it is a few hardcore activists promoting their cause, and being listened to. Companies will adhere to current legislation and employ the people they feel fits their criteria, irrespective of gender.
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Anonymous | 17 Oct 2011 10:20 pm
Men in the UK need to grow up, and stop treating professional women with such disrespect, I have seen it, heard it, and experienced it. We have equal qualifications or better, work harder to be noticed, but still men are so insecure that they have to behave like idiots. Thank heavens men are more professional overseas, just another reason why you will notice professional women leaving the UK.
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Peter Field | 18 Oct 2011 11:06 am
The 5.3% is a meaningless comparison since, whether we like it or not, vast numbers of women are in unprofessional part time jobs. A sensible comparison would be the proportion of professional women to professional men in the SET industries.
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Nigel | 19 Oct 2011 2:36 pm
“Men in the UK need to grow up, and stop treating professional women with such disrespect”
Or as I remember my first 18 months at work….
“Older men in the UK need to grow up, and stop treating youngsters who have just arrived in the profession with sarcasm that would strip wallpaper, constant bullying and belittlement, and total disrespect”
- it’s been going on for some time….
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Mrs. Elliot | 20 Oct 2011 8:41 am
I agree with S. Martin, why is this issue being raised. Whilst I agree that when I was at school women were not pushed towards SET type qualifications, that did not mean that they weren't open to them and I think they are even more so. As I woman, I resent the fact that people think more needs to be done to enable to get the top jobs, or get into the industry at all. This should be a matter of choice and, moreover, working hard. It's like bring in a law stating that X% of board members MUST be women... Can't we just get there on our own merit?
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Katherine Vero KVEducation | 24 Oct 2011 3:50 pm
This is very interesting.
I work with young women of school age and the place of women in engineering may have to do with perception as much as reality.
Reading the comments on this article I can see that women are not made unwelcome in many firms.
However, I would add that diversity within a workforce has a creative and dynamic effect. If we want to increase the number of women in engineering we have to make it attractive for young women to choose the appropriate subjects at school. Engineering has to present itself therefore as the attractive, creative, life enhancing industry that it is.
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