(NWED) is fast approaching and to mark this important day, we wanted to let you know that the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is launching a new campaign to encourage companies of all sizes to revisit their approach to recruitment and retention – to make sure they are doing everything possible to attract more women into engineering roles.
Only 7% of the total UK engineering workforce is female. This effectively means that engineering companies are not accessing half of the potential talent pool which, given the impending skills crisis in engineering and technology, makes poor business sense.
Championing the campaign is IET Deputy President, Naomi Climer, who is also President of Sony Media Cloud Services. Naomi led a 50:50 campaign for Sony Europe designed to “create an inclusive and diverse culture that promotes 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.
“There is a lot of talk about diversity and getting more women into engineering, but it’s my firm belief that we need to take real action if we want to make a difference. The 50:50 campaign was not about making lots of noise, but more about encouraging people within the organisation to take small, practical steps that could start to bring about positive change.”
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.
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