UK engineering companies are missing out on half the potential talent pool when it comes to hiring engineers due to the oversight of women in the workplace, the Institution of Engineering Technology (IET) says.
Currently, just seven per cent of the total UK engineering workforce is female, effectively meaning that engineering companies are missing out on a huge percentage of the talent pool and potentially hindering their business capabilities.
For this reason, IET has launched a new campaign to encourage companies of all sizes to revisit their approach to recruitment and retention of women in engineering roles.
Championing the campaign is IET deputy president, Naomi Climer, who is also president of Sony Media Cloud Services. Climer led a 50:50 campaign to create an inclusive and diverse culture that promoted gender balance and a fulfilling working environment to achieve a greater business result. She is now keen to encourage her fellow engineers to do the same.
Like most companies with engineering teams, Sony Europe didn’t have a good record for either attracting or retaining female engineers. It also had a very low percentage of women in senior positions within the company.
Climer explains: “Before launching the campaign, we had to highlight that the lack of women was a genuine business concern. To do this we set out a strong and compelling business case. Our focus was that improved gender diversity would lead to more innovation, as well as a more harmonious and collaborative working environment – all of which would ultimately help us maintain our competitive market position.”
The IET campaign, which is calling for other companies to look at how they can make their recruitment and retention more female friendly, is launched on National Women in Engineering Day, which is dedicated to raising the profile and celebrating the achievements of women in engineering
Find out more about the campaign here.
The Manufacturer of the Year Awards.
Keen to celebrate the success of your own organisation and the contributions of your staff?
Enter TM’s annual awards scheme, The Manufacturer of the Year Awards.
The scheme celebrates the achievements of manufacturing businesses and individuals across 14 categories and crowns an overall victor for The Manufacturer of the Year Award title.
The awards are free to enter and the prize giving ceremony takes place on November 27 in Birmingham. 1,000 guests are expected to attend this event in 2014.
The deadline for entries to The Manufacturer of the Year Awards 2014 is July 31.
