BCS Joins World Engineer Reception at Houses of Parliament

15 Jul 2016 03:21 PM

11 senior women from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, helped set a record for the number of women engineers in Parliament at a recent World Engineer Reception held at the Houses of Parliament. The women joined over 100 engineers, mathematicians and scientists from across the UK.

The event was hosted by Jeremy Corbyn MP and Chi Onwurah MP to celebrate the contribution that women make to engineering and learn about how the UK can attract and retain more women in the engineering and technical disciplines in the UK.

Gillian Arnold, Chair of BCSWomen and one of the attendees said: “Encouraging diversity in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) is vital for the UK. In the technology profession, women account for just 16% of the workforce. Women are prolific users of technology, we need them to also be involved in its development and deployment to ensure that tomorrow's technical solutions include innovations by (and for) women users. Also, employers need to be able to recruit from the widest pool of available talent, so we really need to make sure that girls and women realise that there are fantastic career options available to them in STEM, and that employers realise that, as Jeremy Corbyn MP, said last night, 'Women can do anything they put their minds to' .”

Chi Onwurah MP, a Chartered Electrical Engineer, told attendees how 25 years after starting out on her career as an engineer the proportion of women engineers remained exactly the same and that the challenge of gender stereotyping needs to be overcome. She is calling for all tech companies to adopt a Women in Tech Charter, similar to a Women in Finance Charter.

BCS is also concerned with the representation of women at board level and made the following recommendations earlier this year in its submission to the Women and Equalities Committee:

• Change the way research is carried out to address the need for better data collection ensuring accurate measuring and monitoring
• Showcasing role models who have reached the executive level so women have someone to aspire to and who can explain how to navigate the challenges of progression
• Improvements to the pay for part-time work to help make it a valid career option for both men and women
• Closing the gender pay gap while also addressing other inequalities
• Integrated education from classroom through to the boardroom on the importance of gender diversity
• Transparent recruitment processes, diverse talent pools and diverse interview panels
• Greater facility for women and men to combine a job with household care and responsibilities.

BCSWomen, part of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, is a countrywide networking group encompassing 1500 IT professionals. The team leading BCSWomen works to encourage more women to join the IT profession and support those who are part of it, including its members

The group runs face-to-face activities for its membership, conferences to encourage IT graduates and post-graduates to join the industry, mentoring and career support schemes for women in technology, and virtual activities using social media and discussion groups. The group also works to inform the UK Government and other Professional Bodies of the issues regarding the lack of diversity in IT.

Several BCSWomen featured on this year’s list of the 50 most influential women in IT published by Computer Weekly. The list celebrates inspirational role models for diversity and success among the tech community.

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