UNESCO/IGU
Workshop on Women in Engineering
10th December 2013
On the 9th December 2013, I flew out to Paris to attend a “Women in Engineering
roundtable for the African and Arab states”. We began the day with 2 minutes of
silence for the late Nelson Mandela, who believed in the great power of
education, specifically the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)
subjects – leading him to set up the Nelson Mandela institute of Science and
Technology.
There were many
inspiring speeches from women and men throughout the day, many of them speaking
from their own experience which brought home the message that these issues are
real, and they are happening now. Throughout the day I was humbled by the
candid way everyone spoke about these issues. It really enabled open and honest
conversations from the panel to the audience – which is so important if we want
to make good cultural and national changes.
During the day I heard many shocking statistics,
figures and stories being told, for instance, did you know that South Africa
needs 2.5 million more engineers to
meet the Millennium Development Goals? And that in Tanzania
and Zambia
there is 1 engineer to every 6,000
people? In the UK
we have 1 engineer to every 12 people…
The reason it is
so important to increase the number of engineers throughout the world is because
there are 1.1 billion people still
without access to clean drinking water, 1 billion People who are hungry and
starving, and around 1 billion
people without access to electricity.
These are issues that engineers can solve. The reason it is important
for women to get into Engineering is that they account for around half of our
population (49.65% c. 2011), yet not many women choose to go into STEM careers
for a number of reasons: usually due to lack of awareness and education, or
societal and culture barriers. It’s unsustainable to discourage half of the
population to consider a career in STEM, so there is a drive to actively
encourage more women to consider such a career.
The statement which really made me realise how far
we have progressed in the UK
in terms of technology and engineering, and how far we have moved towards
enabling women to move away from traditional roles if they want to is:
“The lack of access to energy is killing people. If water and
electricity was available to all, young girls would not spend 20 hours a week
collecting firewood and water, as well as doing household chores: they would be
at school getting an education or working. Just
think about how much the dishwasher and washing machine has done for women
in developed countries today.”
Yes, the simple household appliances many of us
have has freed up hours of the day for women to pursue their careers or spend
more time with their children. Sadly this isn’t the case for the underdeveloped
world where many women and girls don’t have the luxury of these appliances and
do not have the time to get an education or go to work.
As I am sure you have guessed by now, I could write an essay about all
the interesting facts and information I learnt throughout the day, however, for
you this would not be very fun, therefore I have created an Infographic poster
regarding Women in Engineering. Take a look and see if some of the information
comes as a surprise to you… maybe it won’t, but at least you are now more aware
about the drive to encourage more women to consider a career in STEM.
