How an Antarctic expedition is encouraging more women into engineering & why we all need to rethink.

Karen Spenley CEng, an experienced engineer, has worked in industry for 20+ years. Like others she is rethinking the future and taking positive steps towards a more sustainable world.

Karen has been selected to join 94 other climate-driven females from the world of STEM on a ground-breaking expedition with the Homeward Bound Project.   

The Homeward Bound Project has taken the unique approach of building a strong purposefully developed network of women with scientific backgrounds. Over ten years the project aims to have 1000 women in this global collaboration.

During this year’s 12-month programme the participants will gain greater leadership and strategic skills to heighten their ability to influence policy and decision making to shape the future of our planet. The programme culminates in a three-week immersive programme on board a ship in Antarctica to see first-hand the devastating effects of human activity on the environment and consolidate their leadership skills.

The vision of the Homeward Bound project is to:

• Encourage more women into STEM.  This greater diversity will lead to greater innovation and better decision making
• Enhance the opportunity for more women to achieve leadership positions and for their voices to be heard  
• Raise living conditions across the world through positive environmental change, part of which is managing a complex energy transition.

Karen says: “I was starting to think about my daughter’s future.  I looked into the statistics of women choosing a career in engineering and disappointed to see that the figures haven’t changed much since I graduated. We need to address this underrepresentation.

“I’ve also come to realise that people still have a misconception of what an engineer does.  To me, an engineer is someone who applies knowledge to innovate, create, design and construct systems and devices to solve problems. These skills are crucial for the sustainability of our future. I also believe it’s key that engineers and industry are part of the discussion on climate action to ensure the best solutions can be implemented”

In Karen’s cohort there are ten women from the UK and Ireland, which accounts for 10% of the global team for the Homeward Bound Project 2019. “This is an amazing statement for the UK,” she says. “It shows this country wants to be part of the conversation on the global platform. We are all trying to support each other and learn from each other.

“We’ve created a group of women from Homeward Bound who are also in the energy sector to start our own conversations on what companies appear to be doing, or not doing, and with this knowledge look at how we can drive change and share best practices. This programme is allowing me to evaluate my own leadership style and consider what part I can play to protect our future.”

The project is part funded by sponsors, meaning that the participants are having to raise the remaining funds themselves.

If Karen’s story has inspired you to take action then maybe you’ll be interested in participating in next year’s Homeward Bound Project. Applications for 2020 are opening soon, to learn more head over to their website. You can follow her progress on the programme and learn more about what we can do collaboratively to save our planet on her Facebook page or Twitter.