Myth-busting film marks Women in Engineering Day

Rosie MacRae, Head of Inclusion and Diversity for SSE said:

“Some of the myths that still exist in 2017 about women in engineering are just not true. Our film explores some of them so the next generation of girls can feel confident engineering is a real career choice for them."

MacRae added that the energy industry faced two significant employment challenges - a skills shortage and a stark lack of diversity.

"If it wants to be in a position to compete in the future it needs to take action now and we hope this film can play a small part in inspiring future young females to consider a career in engineering," she stated.

Last year SSE published its gender pay gap, two years ahead of schedule. The company's 'In, On and Up' policy aims to attract as many qualified women into the organisation as possible through its apprenticeship and graduate programmes.

We hope this film can play a part in inspiring future young females to consider engineering

Rosie MacRae, head of inclusion and diversity, SSE

Statistics produced by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) reveal a failure to attract females to the profession in the UK:

• Only 9% of the UK engineering workforce is female - one of the lowest percentages in Europe
• Fewer than 165 of engineering and tech graduates in the UK are female - compared with more than 30% of engineering students in India
• The proportion of young women studying engineering and physics has remained largely static since 2012
• Two thirds of engineering employees say a shortage of recruits is a threat to their business

Commenting on the video launch Benita Mehra, WES president said:

“To make societal change, we need to ensure we have a mix of people from all backgrounds and ages whose combined creativity will enable us to come up with the best possible solutions to tackle the problems we face in this ever-demanding world.

"WES is here to provide a voice for women wanting to take an equal part in today’s technical and engineered world. We are delighted to support SSE in this activity to promote women in engineering.”