Diverse and inclusive companies benefit from higher revenue growth, higher levels of innovation, and have higher employee retention levels than others. Yet engineering companies are still struggling to recruit a representative number of women into their workforce. Why?

Engineering is still seen as a largely masculine profession. Even when women do study STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects, they often do not carry those skills forward. According to Harvard Business Review, women now make up more than 20% of engineering graduates, but it’s been estimated that nearly 40% of women who earn engineering degrees either quit or never enter the profession. This creates a vicious circle: not enough women within the engineering profession means that young women have no role models or mentors to encourage them, so they opt for a different career.

Lack of flexible working regimes is another perceived barrier. The expectation that engineering involves being away on site and working long hours can be a deterrent for women who are often expected to act as the main carer for their children or elderly parents while also balancing a career. Nor does society celebrate the achievements of women on engineering equally: we’ve all heard of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, but what about Emily Roebling (who oversaw construction of the Brooklyn Bridge) or Ada Lovelace (the first computer programmer)?

At Celeros Flow Technology, we’re tackling the lack of women in engineering on several fronts:

• We’ve launched an Employee Resource Group called the Women’s Network.

• We’ve built diversity initiatives into our recruitment strategy that include advertising and job postings on female-oriented websites such as Society of Women Engineers (“SWE”), Women in Engineering, etc.

• We place more emphasis on employment benefits and conditions such as flexible / hybrid working and parental leave that support female candidates.

• We gather testimonials from female leaders within our company.

As a company with a strong commitment to apprenticeships and training, we are working to improve and strengthen our ties with schools and colleges so that we can help to encourage the female engineers of tomorrow. We’ll be hosting open days tailored to female candidates who want to learn more about engineering as a career. We’re also exploring external partnerships to continue to expand our network and visibility to women already in engineering or seeking to make it their chosen career.

One final point: encouraging more women into engineering is not just a company-level issue, it is a societal issue. We’re facing some unprecedented engineering challenges, from climate change to artificial intelligence: and we need a diverse range of engineering skills and abilities to develop solutions. That is only going to happen if women and men are valued equally for their contribution.