International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) takes place on 23 June 2021. This annual awareness day exists to raise the profile of female engineers and technicians, spotlighting their achievements in engineering. The theme for 2021 is Engineering Heroes.

To celebrate #INWED21, we have spoken to some of our talented and inspiring women registrants about their motivations, their careers, and how their work is shaping the world.

Rosie Goldrick CEng MICE CIER

Rosie is the Engineering Director of MASS Design Group, where she leads an international team of engineers throughout East Africa. In 2019 she was named overall winner of the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) Engineers Trust Young Engineer of the Year and received the Sir George Macfarlane Medal. She says:

“I joined MASS Design Group’s Kigali office in September 2016 as a Structural Engineer through Engineers Without Borders. Since then, the engineering team has grown dramatically to a multi-disciplinary team of 23 people delivering impactful projects…. Preparation for registration is an excellent way to equip yourself with the technical and commercial skills required as a professional engineer.  

“My two focus areas are on adequate seismic design and embodied carbon. Structural engineering plays such an important role in life safety so I intend to continue to advocate for designing and constructing buildings that will keep occupants safe in an earthquake. I also hope to focus on local materials and efficient low carbon design in response to the climate crisis.”

Find out more about Rosie’s work

Jamie-Leigh Clayton IEng MIET

Jamie-Leigh is an Electrical Control & Instrumentation (EC&I) Engineer at Jacobs, producing documentation for systems and equipment, which are important to safety in nuclear power stations.

“I think the main thing is the safety-critical nature of the work and knowing the massive impact that a radiological release could have. It makes you constantly think about how important the work you are doing is.

“I enjoy the variety more than anything. Most of the projects I work on are fairly small tasks and no two tasks are ever the same ... I’m constantly learning and being challenged in the work I am doing… Registration proves to my employer and future employers that my career and professional development are important to me and that I want to strive to be the best I can be.”

Read more about Jamie-Leigh

Frida Nzaba EngTech TMIET

Frida is an Advanced Overhaul Manufacturing Engineer at Rolls-Royce Plc. She was a finalist for the 2020 Black British Business Awards, and won the Precious Awards Rising Star in 2020. She says:

“What excites me about my job is being able to identify a problem or an improvement idea and having the support from the team and stakeholders to resolve it … The workplace is filled with so many diverse thinkers. I love being able to learn methods of how to approach a situation in a different way. As most people who know me know, I enjoy the fact that the team I am in feels like a small family because we always have each other’s best interests in mind and help wherever possible. Being an engineer in such an environment certainly does help you excel because your learning curve increases exponentially, especially as you continue dealing with people from other functions within the company.

Also, being able to say I am an EngTech really helped me when interviewing for my current job as it shows my willingness to improve myself.”

Find out more in Frida’s case study.

Kimberly Bartlett EngTech AMILP MIET MCIHT

Kimberly is the Principal Engineer at Lighting & Energy Solutions at WSP, and the Vice President of Education at The Institution of Lighting Professionals (ILP). She says:

“Being registered gives you greater opportunities in the professional world and affords you the respect and reputation that a professionally qualified person deserves.

I identify as LGBT+ which, along with being female, does put me in one of the lowest represented groups in the profession. Our numbers are growing, with more and more people realising that engineering is an inclusive and diverse profession that relies heavily on the experience and knowledge of people from all walks of life to achieve our goals. The foundation of engineering is problem solving and, I can’t stress this enough, we can’t solve problems effectively if we don’t intimately understand them. In order to understand them we need people who have lived with and experienced the types of problems we are trying to solve, which means we all have a part to play in the future.”

Read more about Kimberly.

Dr Larissa Suzuki, BSc MPhil PhD CEng FRSA MIET AFHEA

Larissa is a computer scientist and engineer working for Google cloud and UCL. Laura is neurodivergent and had both ADHD and autism.

"Knowing about my condition has helped me to understand where I can add value, where to find help, and I also found out I have some super powers - which is something we mostly found out about when we study more our understand better about our conditions. The importance of having neurodiverse people in the workplace is because we can create better products and have better profit and better business outcomes, and also make everyone feel that they belong too, and they don't have to check themselves at the door before getting into the workplace."

Read Larissa's case study, hear Larissa speak for Autistic Pride Day, or watch her presentation at our Making It Work Seminar (from 19 minutes 35 seconds).

You can find out more about how professional registration can support you in your engineering career on our website. Professional registration is open to all practising engineers and technicians who can demonstrate the required standard of competence and commitment.

INWED was established by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), to demonstrate the incredible career opportunities available and to enthuse women and girls about a career in engineering.

To find out more, please visit inwed.org.uk