Articles
I find that engineering is not celebrated as a career that can change the world or save lives – but this is key to appealing to today’s young people. I was inspired by the engineers that saved the miners’ lives in Chile, and wished there was more information about how the engineers solved the problems.
When I studied engineering in the late 1970s, the focus was on reducing pollution, and I discovered that engineers can make a huge difference in driving changes to processes to remove pollutants and improve the environment. This appealed directly to me as I’m personally motivated when I can make an impact.
I was never put off following an engineering career when I was at school. I went to an all-girls high school and three of us in the sixth form studied chemistry, physics and maths, and there were nine of us in the physics class. I go into schools today and it’s hard for the teenage girl to be one of two or three girls among 30 boys. These classes need to be more balanced, and we need to break some of the stereotypes that are set at an early age.
Diversity in all walks of life is extremely important. It makes for more productive teams and a more enjoyable working environment. For example, I admire the Scandinavian countries for their gender diversity. I have experience with the Norwegian oil and gas industry where they have a completely balanced workforce living and operating offshore. The Norwegians are regarded as the most innovative and efficient when it comes to offshore production.
In the US, where I live, there appears to be more appetite for encouraging women to pursue STEM degrees and careers. The number of STEM jobs is increasing. If you cannot tap into all the available workforce to fill your employment needs, then you’re going to be at a disadvantage globally.
Family life matters
I was on an engineering board a few years ago where we discussed attracting the brightest and best young people to follow careers in engineering rather than pursuing banking or medicine. One of the greatest challenges was the impact on family life, for both men and women, of an engineering project-based career that involved working in some of the remotest places on Earth. One could be away from family for a significant amount of time. The industry could do more to acknowledge just how hard it is on family life for both men and women, and offer options to achieve a better work-life balance, such as time off at the end of a project.
There is certainly stereotyping, which happens in a lot of cultures around the world. I can testify that women who choose Stem careers find rich, fulfilling, well-paid lifelong careers and are well appreciated by our colleagues and employers. The recent movie, Hidden Figures, about three pioneering females who worked for Nasa in the 1950s, demonstrated extreme bias – both gender and racial – but the women themselves wanted to better their lives, and their colleagues appreciated their work. We need to celebrate and share success stories to demonstrate that bias can be overcome.
Mentoring programmes for women are a key aspect to encourage individuals to overcome perceived or actual bias. I recall a time when I was working offshore and was confronted by the installation manager, who was a former ship’s captain. He told me he did not like having women on board as he was conditioned to consider women and children first if there were an emergency. This was a very real concern and bias for him. My confidence in my own ability to look after myself and be one of the crew alleviated some of his concerns.
Talking through with a mentee situations where they feel they have been ignored or feel they could not speak up can really help them to figure out what approach to take or what situations to respond to, and build their confidence