One of the team

London – ?When the European Commission’s ‘Science: it’s a girl thing’ video was released in June, it went viral for all the wrong reasons. The promotional teaser, designed to encourage young women to take up science, showed sashaying girls amid puffs of cosmetic powder, giggling and blowing kisses.

The response was immediate and overwhelmingly negative. So much so, that the EC promptly removed the video and released a statement explaining its motivations. Shortly after, it changed its original #sciencegirlthing label on Twitter to the hashtag #realwomeninscience, inviting examples from the science and technology community.

For one noted young woman in engineering, it’s these real world examples that can make a lasting difference. Laurie-Ann Benner is a reliability engineer at PEME, a Peterborough-based engineering company that aims to improve the productivity of manufacturing plant and processes.

There is this false idea that if you’re female there is a huge barrier and that people are going to talk to you in a different way

“Most young people want a well-paid job that makes a difference,” she said. “Any marketing has to be honest and promote the characteristics required to be successful as well as actual working environments … I’ve never seen being female as an issue. It has not been a barrier for me. If there is something I want to do in my life, I’d never use being female as a reason to stop me.”

Benner believes the realities of a career in engineering are exciting enough to entice more young women into the sector. The numbers, however, prove that getting the message out there is much harder. Currently, women make up 43% of GPs, 41% of solicitors and 22% of MPs. But the percentage of female engineering undergraduates remains at 12%.

Misconceptions are at the heart of the issue. According to Benner, the perception of an anti-female factory floor is inaccurate. “There is this false idea that if you’re female there is a huge barrier and that people are going to talk to you in a different way,” she said. “That isn’t the case. If you work hard you are one of the team.”

Benner is one of three women in engineering roles at PEME. Her introduction to engineering came from her husband who had taken up an apprenticeship to become a plant and forklift truck engineer.

“When I first met my husband I used to flick through some of his books in college, he inspired me and I got interested in it and went for an apprenticeship myself,” said Benner.

The apprenticeship led Benner to PEME where she now works as part of the condition-based monitoring team. Her role includes completing breakdown investigations, applying root cause analysis to suggest corrective actions and using reliability centred maintenance techniques. Although Benner is in the minority, her company is keen to recruit more female engineers.

“The focus should be on getting information to young women at the right time,” said Benner. “Even if this is just to make sure they are aware there is another option open to them…it’s often difficult for teachers, because they don’t have all the information readily available to them, and so they face a challenge in advising their students.”

Benner promotes STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects by visiting secondary school to give talks. She is also a member of Talent 2030, a campaign run by the Council for Industry and Higher Education. It hopes to deliver the message to young women making academic choices, that jobs in engineering not only make a huge contribution to society, but also deliver higher salaries that many other careers.

As Benner’s experience proves, it’s not necessary to glitter-coat the reality of engineering to attract women. The variety, innovation and challenges offered by the process industries are enough to inspire a new generation of engineers. Ultimately, engineers need to be the ones who are more vocal about their passion. As the skills gap widens, attracting new talent, will be crucial to maintaining the UK’s leading position in the sector.