Comment: Empowering women in engineering

Today, on International Women in Engineering Day (IWED), we celebrate the women who are building the future. For me, it’s personal. Not just because I’m a civil engineer, but as someone who has spent decades walking the line between ambition and assumption, expertise and exclusion. Throughout my career, I’ve worked with many brilliant female engineers. I’ve seen their grit, their ideas, the barriers they face, and too often, the quiet exits they make mid-career – not because they aren’t capable, but because the system isn’t built for them.

Let’s be honest: celebration isn’t enough. Not when up to 50 per cent of technical women end up leaving the STEM workforce after just 5-7 years on the job. That is a retention crisis, and it’s costing us all.

Multiple studies have proven that companies with more women in leadership consistently outperform those without. When women leave, the industry is losing innovation, business opportunity, and future growth. Diverse teams build better, more inclusive solutions, and ultimately, a stronger future.

Women are continuing to walk away, however, because they’re still not seeing a path forward. Too often, caregiving is quietly penalised, mistaken for a lack of ambition. In meetings, their voices are then interrupted or ignored, while networking circles remain closed to those who don’t mirror the status quo. And, behind the glossy diversity statements, many companies still treat inclusion as a checkbox; something to market, not something to lead with.

A 2024 survey by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) found that just eight per cent of people could name a single woman who’s made a major contribution to STEM. This lack of visibility is pervasive across the sector and fuels disillusionment. When women don’t see others leading projects, heading departments, or shaping company strategy, it becomes harder to imagine a future there - and when they exit the corporate door, the next generation has even fewer models to emulate. That’s why retention requires more than performative allyship or one-off diversity pledges. It takes systemic change of policy, leadership, and culture.

We know what helps. Retention improves when mentorship is consistent, when sponsorship is intentional, and when parental policies are both inclusive and stigma-free. At Limak, we’ve made flexibility a standard - not a favour, and we embed equity into all performance and promotion frameworks. These equality policies aren’t side projects, but central to our talent strategy across our megaprojects, like the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge and Spotify Camp Nou.

Our Global Engineer Girls (GEG) program complements this effort by helping women thrive in engineering. Active in seven countries, GEG has supported over 1,700 students through mentorships, internships, and scholarships. We stay engaged beyond entry, supporting women’s growth and leadership. Eda Adanır, a former GEG student and now an Electrical and Electronics Engineer at LimakPort İskenderun - one of the largest in the Eastern Mediterranean region, is a prime example of women who are the future of this industry if we build the right environment.

To make this future a reality, more engineering companies need to evolve, ensuring women are supported beyond their first promotion; that flexible work policies are not only available but free of stigma; and that career development is intentional and individualised.

I work alongside senior women engineers who have advanced not just their own careers but also opened doors for others. They mentor, advocate, and lead by example. Their presence challenges outdated assumptions about who belongs in engineering, and that representation makes a difference. When women see others in senior roles, they see a future for themselves.

The women shaping our industry don’t need to be convinced they belong – they need to be backed. With opportunities, with leadership that listens and with workplaces that evolve to match their needs.

The future of engineering is being built right now. To ensure its strong, innovative, and inclusive, we must build it with everyone in mind, and design a structure that reflects the full spectrum of talent we have today.

Ebru Özdemir, Chairperson and CEO of Limak Group