Despite being a rewarding and universal career, few women choose to go into engineering. There are, however, numerous agencies out there intending to change all that.

What is it about engineering? It offers a varied, intellectually challenging career with opportunities to travel, gain professional qualifications and even run your own company.

There are more engineers holding directorships than there are accountants. The salary is good, international respect has never been higher and there are opportunities to make a real difference to the way we live.

Yet still very few women choose engineering as a career. Look at the statistics. Women account for only:

• 4% of engineering apprenticeships
• 11% of engineering students in FE colleges
• 18% of engineering undergraduates
• 4% of operators/assemblers
• 6% of professional engineers
• 3% of chartered engineers.

What is it about engineering?

Let’s get rid of some preconceptions. Generally speaking engineering is not dirty, boring and badly paid.

Except for on-site visits, engineers work in offices using state-of-the-art equipment. They are inventors, designers and problem solvers. They are part of an international network of highly-skilled professionals. They are well paid and well respected. Wouldn’t any woman want to be part of such a team?

Women entering graduate engineering jobs

Quite apart from the fact that the law requires that men and women are treated equally, employers are waking up to the fact that women make very good engineers.

Hewlett-Packard, for example, says, ’to us diversity is the existence of many unique individuals in the workplace including men and women of different nations, cultures, ethnic groups - we are creating a work environment where everyone has an opportunity to participate fully in achieving business success.’

Initiatives encouraging women to go for an engineering career include:

• Equalitec
• European Association for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (WiTEC)
• MentorSET
• Women Into Science, Engineering and Construction (WISE)
• Women’s Engineering Society
• Women in Technology International (WITI).

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