The Beginning
UK National Women in Engineering Day held annually on June 23rd, a movement started by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) the forerunner to International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), and first took place in the UK in 2014. The objective behind this WES initiative was to raise the profile of women in engineering. The day gained support from UNESCO two years later, raising awareness on a global scale. Finally, in 2017, the day was celebrated on an international level for the first time. The day was first observed internationally in 2017 – a day that honours and celebrates the tenacious efforts made by female engineers.
Objectives
The main goals of the day are to raise awareness and promote female participation in the engineering field. INWED recognises importance of female engineering pioneers, who are frequently overlooked. The awareness campaigns are to equip young girls with boundless opportunities to help them carve a niche for themselves. INWED also gives a platform to conduct outreach programmes with younger generations and early career professionals. The initiative has listed 40 UK-based events, with many more occurring elsewhere, to deliver and support learning sessions.
Theme
This year will mark the 10th celebration of International Women in Engineering Day. Every year the day is attributed to different themes and INWED 2023 theme is ‘Make Safety Seen’ to highlight how female engineers have broken through barriers in creating technology for a safe future. It also serves as a platform to discuss the actions that can be taken to ensure a safe personal environment for female engineers to work in.
INWED 23 Celebrations and Awards
Various events, including webinars, podcasts, award ceremonies, and tours, were held to mark INWED 23 by businesses, organisations, and educational institutions. Several INWED 2023 events are listed on following website: https://www.inwed.org.uk/events/
A new free gallery at London’s Science Museum was opened to public on Friday 23rd June. The gallery will explore how engineers
change the world.
RWE, the UK’s electricity generator celebrated International Women in Engineering Day by hosting a tour of the largest wind farm in
Welsh waters.
CORROSION journal hosted a podcast in which Dr Jen Locke, from The Ohio State University, and Dr Erin Karasz, from Sandia National Laboratories, discussed their careers in materials science and engineering.
Women Engineers Making News
Sharon Harte of Dacrylate Paints was elected President of British Coatings Federation (BCF). Sharon taking over from Guy Williams and becomes the first female President of the BCF – or its predecessor organisations – in its 111-year history. For the 2023 British Coatings Federation (BCF) Annual Conference, more than 150 top business leaders and decision-makers from the UK’s paints, coatings and printing ink industries gathered in Derby.
Within the Transport sector, Kris Kinnear, capital delivery director at Network Rail recently commented:
“As an industry, we are keen to encourage more young women and girls to get involved in engineering opportunities and careers. Visits such as these support our platform of diversity and inclusion, and help us to promote the role and contribution female engineers play in the industry on a daily basis.
“As an industry, we are keen to encourage more young women and girls to get involved in engineering opportunities and careers. Visits such as these support our platform of diversity and inclusion, and help us to promote the role and contribution female engineers play in the industry on a daily basis.
“It’s great to see the work of female engineers being acknowledged finally.”
Amongst our younger Corrosion Members, Claudia Martinez Pinon from Corrosion Radar is an excellent example of someone who has excelled within her role in our Industry. Graduating from Universidad de Oviedo with BSc (Hons) in Industrial Chemical Engineering and Specialization in Environmental Engineering and Sustainability, she joined Corrosion Radar (CUI Sensor specialists) in May 2019 and has since gone onto develop a very wide skill set in Corrosion Management areas – Algorithm Development, Risk Management, Risk Analysis, Risk Assessment, Project Management, Research and Development (R&D), Data Analysis and Experimental Design.
See also: https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/levenmouth-offers-a-platform-for-women-in-engineering
Within our own Institute of Corrosion, Dr Jane Lomas regularly delivers our Fundamentals of Corrosion Engineering (FOCE) course. Attendees on the course are given a wide-ranging introduction to all major aspects of corrosion engineering.
Successful completion of the course and the associated examination is required for obtaining Professional Membership of ICorr for those without either formal qualifications in corrosion or the relevant field experience. The course is based very much on practical information with hands-on examples as well as relevant background theory.
The next FOCE Course dates are week commencing: 13 – 17th November 2023 to be held at Northampton
INSET:
Dr Jane Lomas, ICorr Trustee and Honorary Secretary
More information on INWED 23 can be obtained from: inwed.org.uk
Upcoming issues of Corrosion Management will include articles about women in the corrosion community and highlight their career journey. These articles will discuss the motivation for their careers, the benefits of diversity and inclusion to the field, and challenges they have experienced, as well as their advice to young corrosion professionals.
