The IET made the appeal because of “the worryingly low number of female engineers contributing to its publications. For example, only 1% of the 800 editorial board members serving across the IET’s journal portfolio are female”.
The annual IET Skills and Demand in Industry survey shows that women have represented less than 10% of the engineering workforce in the UK for over a decade, so ensuring the work of outstanding female engineers is better represented in the world of engineering publishing has never been so important.
Naomi Climer, IET president, said: “Women are woefully underrepresented in engineering. In a profession with a serious skills shortage, this represents a problem for the economy as well as for diversity. It is therefore important that leading engineering publishers like the IET ensure gender diversity in their approach to publishing.
“That’s why we are appealing to female engineers to share their expertise and experiences with their peers, not only as a way of boosting their own career progression but also to inspire the next generation of female engineers.”
Esther Dudek, a senior consultant at EA Technology, added: “It’s important to have visible diversity within engineering to show the wide range of areas that women are working in. Too often, the important roles that women have in the profession aren’t reflected at events or in technical journals.
“It’s also important to have visible female role models for more outward facing things, such as on TV, as it influences the next generation and their career choices.
“If we want to have more visible role models then we need to be prepared to volunteer for things, and talk about our work. I was delighted to get involved with the IET’s E&T reference – it’s a good way of promoting your company and the skills and knowledge you have.”
To find out more about the IET’s publishing resources, visit the authors’ section of the IET’s Resources webpage. The IET also has an authors’ community on its Engineering Communities website.
