An inaugural list of the top 50 Women in Engineering is published in the Daily Telegraph for the first time on 23 June 2016 to coincide with National Women in Engineering Day.
The list, compiled by the Telegraph in collaboration with the Women’s Engineering Society will feature the UK’s top influential female engineers chosen from almost 900 nominations.
Dawn Bonfield, Chief Executive of the Women’s Engineering Society who is also the founder of National Women in Engineering Day commented: ‘We had a very high response to this campaign and were hugely impressed with the entries. This list of amazing role models is a great way of raising the profile of our talented women engineers and making them more visible both within the industry and to the next generation.”
The list includes many familiar senior engineers’ names such as Dame Ann Dowling OM DBE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Naomi Climer, President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and Dame Judith Hackitt DBE, former Chair of the Health and Safety Executive and now Chair of EEF the Manufacturers’ Organisation. It also, however, includes some names that may come as a surprise, including Steph McGovern from BBC Breakfast, a former engineer who continues to do a huge amount to encourage the next generation into engineering, and Chi Onwurah MP – the only female engineer in Parliament.
The candidates on the list represent the broad range of engineering roles available including industrialists from the traditional built environment, energy and transport sectors, but also including names from the Hilton Group of Hotels, the Merlin entertainment group and many representatives from academia. The list also includes women who are no longer working as practicing engineers but are nevertheless still influential in the sector.
Judge Allan Cook CBE, Chairman of Atkins commented: “I was really impressed with the calibre, quality and quantity of the submissions. Reading through the entries it was incredibly exciting to see the breadth of talent we have in our engineering community.”
Brief biographies of each one of the 50 engineers on the list will be printed in the Telegraph on 23 June and this will be accompanied by a breakfast launch taking place at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Savoy Place, London WC2R 0BL to which all of the engineers listed and many of the other nominated candidates have been invited.
Sponsors of the campaign were Scottish Power, Mars Petcare, Jaguar Land Rover, SEMTA, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and BAE Systems.
The 50 women engineers on this inaugural list are:
Name |
Company Name |
Roma Agrawal |
Interserve |
Helen Atkinson |
University of Leicester |
Danella Bagnall |
Jaguar Land Rover |
Faye Banks |
National Grid |
Alison Baptiste |
Environment Agency |
Jayne Bryant |
Bae Systems |
Muffy Calder |
University of Glasgow |
Liv Carroll |
Wardell Armstrong International Ltd |
Jacqueline Castle |
Airbus UK |
Amanda Chessell |
IBM |
Naomi Climer |
Institution of Engineering and Technology |
Susan Dio |
BP Shipping |
Michelle Dix |
Crossrail |
Ann Dowling |
University of Cambridge |
Elizabeth Eastaugh |
Expedia |
Dawn Elson |
Merlin Entertainments Group |
Jane Gartshore |
Cool Concerns |
Lynn Gladen |
Cambridge University |
Paulina Godfrey |
Hilton Worldwide |
Judith Hackitt |
Health and Safety Executive |
Wendy Hall |
University of Southampton |
Louise Hardy |
Ebbsfleet Development Corporation & Ministry of Defence |
Caroline Hargrove |
McLaren Applied Technologies |
Karen Holford |
Cardiff University |
Ying Hu |
Rolls-Royce Plc |
Sue Ion |
Nuclear Innovation and Research Advisory Board |
Barbara Judge |
UK AEA |
Julia King |
Aston University |
Ailie MacAdam |
Bechtel |
Cathy McClay |
National Grid |
Steph McGovern |
BBC Breakfast |
Linda Miller |
Crossrail |
Dervilla Mitchell |
Arup |
Heidi Mottram |
Northumbrian Water |
Alison Nimmo |
The Crown Estate |
Belinda Oldfield |
Scottish Water |
Chi Onwurah |
Member of Parliament |
Isobel Pollock |
Worshipful Company of Engineers |
Haifa Ross |
Solihull College and University Centre |
Helen Samuels |
United Utilities |
Angela Seeney |
Oil & Gas Authority |
Nina Skorupska |
Renewable Energy |
Jane Simpson |
Network Rail |
Dana Skelley |
Transport for London |
Rachel Skinner |
WSP Parsons Brinkerhoff |
Debbie Smith |
BRE |
Vicky Stewart |
Atkins |
Eleanor Stride |
University of Oxford |
Alison Vincent |
Cisco International Ltd |
Katherine Ward |
Atkins |
- The campaign was jointly coordinated by the Telegraph and the Women’s Engineering Society and sponsored by Scottish Power, Mars Petcare, Jaguar Land Rover, SEMTA, IET and BAE Systems.
- Judges of the competition were:
Dawn Bonfield MBE Chief Executive, Women's Engineering Society
Allan Cook CBE Chairman of Atkins, Chairman of SEMTA, Non-Executive Director of BIS
Professor John Perkins CBE FREng Previously BIS Chief Scientific Adviser
Michelle Richmond Membership and Professional Development Director of the Institution of Engineering and Technology
Fiona Tatton Founder and Editor of Womanthology
Their biographies can be seen at http://www.wes.org.uk/50wejudges
- National Women in Engineering Day (#NWED2016) is now an International awareness campaign sponsored by UNESCO to raise the profile of women in engineering and focus attention on the amazing career opportunities available to girls in this exciting industry. It takes place annually on 23 June and in 2016 NWED is celebrated for the third year. It is coordinated by the Women’s Engineering Society and was established in 2014 to celebrate the 95th anniversary of the Society. See more at www.nwed.org.uk
- Many other events take place across the UK and internationally to mark National Women in Engineering Day and these can be seen here: http://www.nwed.org.uk/events.html
- The Women’s Engineering Society is a charity which was established in 1919 to promote diversity in engineering. It is a membership organisation and supports women engineers; encourages the engineering education; and supports corporate engineering diversity and inclusion. www.wes.org.uk