International Women in Engineering Day: The importance of allyship

The Engineering & Technology Industry lost 38,000 talented women between 2022 and 2023 and the number continues to increase. Only 15.7 per cent of workers in engineering are women – so the question remains, why aren’t we retaining the female talent we work so hard to attract?

According to a study by Skillcast, only the construction sector employs fewer women than manufacturing right now – and with more than 50,000 manufacturing vacancies to fill, so many women represents a massively missed opportunity to develop much-needed talent..

I spoke as part of a panel at Automation UK in May to address these troubling figures, alongside male and female engineers at various phases in their careers (imagine that – an industry panel featuring both men and women!) We agreed that meeting the engineering challenges of the next generation – sustainable technologies, housebuilding, and cyber security among others – means listening to a more diverse range of voices, understanding their needs, and creating effective solutions.