Women in electronics. I retired a couple of years ago, after working as an Electronic Engineer for over 40 years. On my university course (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) there were about 50 undergraduates and all of them were male. At my retirement, I handed over my role, managing a worldwide team of application engineers for a software company, to a woman. Including her, in a team of around 15 engineers, there were two women. That's progress, but very slow. Engineering can also be “people work”. The application engineering work was just as much about written and spoken communication as it was about engineering. Female engineers, who I managed, found sometimes that customers believed they were talking to an administrator rather than an engineer. However, once those customers found they were receiving solutions to their problems, then such prejudice evaporated. Is such work overlooked by the IET? The IET seems to me to focus on the design and build aspects of engineering. Many engineers are involved directly in that. However, the complexity of modern systems means that most are developed and maintained by large teams, with many different roles in the team. Roles that involve daily face to face communication with customers are seen as rather trivial, whereas, in reality, they require both deep engineering and excellent communication skills. It's similar to the difference between a GP and a surgeon. When young people think of a doctor, many will think of a GP. When they think of an engineer, they may think of a technician (who is less qualified)  or an engineer who works alone in a lab. There are opportunities in technology for professionally qualified people with “a good bedside manner”.

Women in electronics. I retired a couple of years ago, after working as an Electronic Engineer for over 40 years. On my university course (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) there were about 50 undergraduates and all of them were male. At my retirement, I handed over my role, managing a worldwide team of application engineers for a software company, to a woman. Including her, in a team of around 15 engineers, there were two women. That's progress, but very slow. Engineering can also be “people work”. The application engineering work was just as much about written and spoken communication as it was about engineering. Female engineers, who I managed, found sometimes that customers believed they were talking to an administrator rather than an engineer. However, once those customers found they were receiving solutions to their problems, then such prejudice evaporated. Is such work overlooked by the IET? The IET seems to me to focus on the design and build aspects of engineering. Many engineers are involved directly in that. However, the complexity of modern systems means that most are developed and maintained by large teams, with many different roles in the team. Roles that involve daily face to face communication with customers are seen as rather trivial, whereas, in reality, they require both deep engineering and excellent communication skills. It's similar to the difference between a GP and a surgeon. When young people think of a doctor, many will think of a GP. When they think of an engineer, they may think of a technician (who is less qualified)  or an engineer who works alone in a lab. There are opportunities in technology for professionally qualified people with “a good bedside manner”.