Dr Helen Meese, the Institution's Head of Healthcare and a Chartered Engineer, said: “Women are missing out on the huge career opportunities in engineering. Currently just 6% of UK engineers are female, but the results of this survey are encouraging and show that there is appetite for change.
“On International Women’s Day we want to celebrate the huge achievements of female engineers and to call on more women to consider a career in engineering.
“Engineering opens doors to hugely creative and rewarding career paths, from creating the next generation of greener, more efficient technologies, to developing life-saving procedures used in hospitals.
“According to these results, 78% of the public would like more engineering to be included in the school curriculum. We think it is vital that in addition to learning about volcanoes and photosynthesis, children are also taught about the manufactured world and understand the principles of objects, such as a phone touchscreen or a dialysis machine.
“This survey shows strong public support for women in engineering, and we hope that by making children aware of the variety of ways engineering impacts our day-to-day lives that we will be able to inspire more children and girls to take up engineering.”
The survey of 2,005 members of the public was carried out by ICM Unlimited on behalf of the Institution on 24-26 February 2016.
Read the full results of the Women in engineering survey.