Jenni Sidey, 28 (pictured) is a lecturer in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge, where she teaches a wide range of engineering students about thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, combustion, and energy concepts. As a researcher and a combustion scientist, she is currently working on developing low emission combustion devices for use in the transportation and energy sectors. She is one of five finalists of the prestigious engineering industry awards, which aim to banish outdated engineering stereotypes of hard hats and greasy pipes – and help change the perception that engineering is only a career for men.
With three prizes to be won – the Young Woman Engineer (YWE) of the Year Award, the Mary George Memorial Prize for Apprentices and the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) Prize – Jenni is up against:
- Nadia Johnson (20) is an Apprentice Software Engineer at Thales UK.
- Bethan Murray (23) is Manufacturing Systems Lead at Rolls-Royce Plc.
- Gemma Dalziel (23) an Apprentice Network Engineer at Cisco.
- Emma Wilding (22) an Apprentice Vehicle Safety Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover.
As well as highlighting female engineering talent, the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards seek to find female role models who can help address the UK science and engineering skills crisis by promoting engineering careers to more girls and women. Women currently represent only 9 per cent of the engineering workforce in the UK (source: 2016 IET Skills Survey), the lowest percentage in Europe.
To help inspire the next generation of female engineers and to raise awareness of these awards, the IET has launched a new social media campaign, asking female engineers to share a photo of themselves at work with 9% written on their hand using the hashtag #9percentisnotenough.
Naomi Climer, outgoing IET President, said: “Engineering is a fantastic career – it’s diverse and exciting with the opportunity to do something life- or world-changing. But the lack of women in the sector is a huge problem.
“The difficulty in attracting women into engineering is down to a combination of things, including the image of engineers within the UK, careers advice girls are given in schools and the way that companies with engineering roles advertise their opportunities.
“It’s also a result of the lack of engineering role models for girls, which is why our Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards are all about finding role models to get girls – and young people in general – excited and inspired about a career in engineering.
“So I’d like to congratulate Nadia, Jenni, Bethan, Gemma and Emma for making the final five and in helping to demonstrate the tremendous female engineering talent in our industry today.”
The winner will be announced at the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards ceremony on 1 December at IET London: Savoy Place. For more information, visit www.theiet.org/ywe.
The IET is one of the world’s largest engineering institutions with over 167,000 members in 150 countries. It is also the most interdisciplinary – to reflect the increasingly diverse nature of engineering in the 21st century. Energy, transport, manufacturing, information and communications, and the built environment: the IET covers them all.
- The IET is working to engineer a better world by inspiring, informing and influencing our members, engineers and technicians, and all those who are touched by, or touch, the work of engineers.
- We want to build the profile of engineering and change outdated perceptions about engineering in order to tackle the skills gap. This includes encouraging more women to become engineers and growing the number of engineering apprentices.
- For more information, visit www.theiet.org
- Follow the IET on Twitter.
*******
Media enquiries to:
Robert Beahan, External Communications Manager
T: +44 (0)1438 767336
M: +44 (0)7595 400912
E: rbeahan@theiet.org
Helen Rognaldsen, Head of Communications
T: +44 (0)1438 767226
M: +44 (0)7841 211005
E: hrognaldsen@theiet.org
Rebecca Gillick, Communications Executive
T: +44 (0)1438 765 618
M: +44 (0)7725 498 129
E: rgillick@theiet.org
____________________________________________________