Women's Engineering Society
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[edit] Introduction
The Women's Engineering Society (WES) is a charity designed to support the United Kingdom’s network of women engineers, scientists and technologists. The organisation’s mission is to see “...a nation in which women are as likely as men to choose to study and work in engineering, and one in which there are enough engineers to meet a growing demand.”
It was the first such organisation for women in the engineering profession.
[edit] Early history
The Women's Engineering Society was formed in 1919 as an initiative to help organise women who had worked in engineering roles during the First World War and wished to continue in technical professions after the war concluded. It was founded by Lady Parsons (Katharine Bethell) and six other influential women, including her daughter Rachel. Both Lady Parsons and her daughter had worked as engineers during the war and could understand the frustrations other female engineers were experiencing in the workplace.
In 1969, the Women in Engineering Year award was introduced by the Women’s Engineering Society, and in 1984 they assisted in the establishment of the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) campaign.
The Women's Engineering Society launched an annual National Women in Engineering Day in 2014 to mark its 95th anniversary. The event takes place every year on 23 June.
[edit] Modern day activities
With a focus on education, the organisation offers scholarships to candidates pursuing careers in engineering. It also has an extensive archive tracing the role of women in the engineering profession.
The Women’s Engineering Society consults with various government bodies about the progression of women in engineering. Membership of the organisation is dictated by qualifications and experience.
The Women’s Engineering Society focusses on the following areas:
- To support members and women engineers in general.
- To encourage women to study engineering and pursue careers in the field.
- To promote a wider corporate view of gender diversity.
- To represent the collective voice of women engineers.
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Diversity, social value and skills
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