BCSWomen attend World Engineer Reception at Houses of Parliament

Senior women from BCSWomen helped set a record for the number of women engineers in Parliament at a recent World Engineer Reception held at the Houses of Parliament. The women joined over 100 engineers, mathematicians and scientists from across the UK.

The event was hosted by Jeremy Corbyn MP and Chi Onwurah MP to celebrate the contribution that women make to engineering and learn about how the UK can attract and retain more women in the engineering and technical disciplines in the UK.

Gillian Arnold, Chair of BCSWomen and one of the attendees said: “Encouraging diversity in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) is vital for the UK. In the technology profession, women account for just 16% of the workforce. Women are prolific users of technology, we need them to also be involved in its development and deployment to ensure that tomorrow’s technical solutions include innovations by (and for) women users. Also, employers need to be able to recruit from the widest pool of available talent, so we really need to make sure that girls and women realise that there are fantastic career options available to them in STEM, and that employers realise that, as Jeremy Corbyn MP, said last night, ‘Women can do anything they put their minds to’.