Are you happy with this pace of change?

We won’t reach gender parity in engineering this century.

The alarmingly slow rate of progress towards gender equality: the big challenge of our time.

This week we celebrated International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) on 23rd June, and there is much to be proud of.

According to Engineering UK’s Engineering and Technology Workforce report published in April 2026, women now represent 17% of the engineering and technology workforce.

Let’s recognise - that is progress.

In 2010, the figure stood at just 10%.

Thousands of people, organisations, educators, employers, mentors, allies and role models have worked tirelessly to help move that number in the right direction. Every woman who has entered engineering, persisted through challenges, progressed into leadership and inspired others deserves recognition and celebration.

But this INWED, I find myself desperately wanting to move beyond celebration and ask the question - what are we all actually doing that is moving the dial to accelerate this progress?

Because when I look at the data, I don’t feel reassured.

I feel frankly, alarmed.

OK, yes representation has increased in the UK - over the last 16 years from 10% to 17%. But if that rate continues we will not achieve gender parity in engineering until the next CENTURY!

Not within the careers of today’s graduates. Not even within the careers of many children currently sitting in primary school classrooms.

The reality is that a girl in primary school today could become an engineer, build a successful career, retire from engineering and still never experience a profession that reflects society equally.

Pause for a moment and think about what that really means.

This is not a diversity issue, or a workforce issue, or really even an engineering issue.

Fundamentally it is a society issue.

Engineering shapes almost every aspect of modern life. Engineers decide how our lives function. They design transport systems, energy networks, water infrastructure, digital systems, medical devices, communication technologies and increasingly the artificial intelligence systems that influence decisions around us every day.

Engineering determines how people interact with the world. And yet the people designing that world remain far from representative of the people who live in it.

So, if we just focus on celebrating the existing women without confronting the scale of the problem that still exists, we are just sticking our heads in the sand.

The Hidden Cost of Homogeneous Thinking

Whenever conversations about diversity arise, someone inevitably says:

“Surely the best person should get the job.”

I agree.

The problem is that this statement assumes diversity initiatives are about lowering standards.

They are not.

They should be about creating equal opportunity.

Engineering has always been about solving problems. And the quality of solutions depends heavily on the diversity of perspectives brought to those problems.

History is full of examples where a lack of diversity led to poorer outcomes. Vehicle safety, medical research, protective equipment, bias in AI are just a few of the common ones cited.

These examples are not evidence of malicious intent. They are evidence of blind spots. And blind spots become more likely when the people creating solutions share similar experiences, assumptions and perspectives.

So the most powerful question we need to ask ourselves isn’t “how do we get more women into engineering?” or even “when will we reach gender parity?”.

The real question is “can we afford to wait?”.

The Infrastructure of Tomorrow Is Being Designed Today

The engineering decisions being made right now will shape society for decades.

Some will shape it for centuries.

The bridges, railways, power systems, digital networks and AI-enabled technologies currently being developed will influence how future generations live, work and interact.

So when we talk about representation in engineering, we are not talking about numbers on a spreadsheet.

We are talking about who gets to shape the future. Who gets to decide which problems matter. Who gets to influence priorities. Who gets to identify risks. Who gets to challenge assumptions. Who gets to imagine solutions.

When representation changes slowly, the consequences are not limited to today’s workforce. The consequences echo through generations of engineering decisions.

That should concern all of us.

Why I Haven’t Given Up

I was speaking with an engineering friend the other day, and she was exhausted from decades of trying to change things. Faced with these statistics, it would be easy to become disheartened.

But I am actually more optimistic than ever.

My work in STEMAZING keeps me focussed on the positive potential. Over the last five years since I have been working full time on this challenge, I have seen first-hand what happens when children encounter diverse STEM role models.

I have watched children completely transform their understanding of who engineers are. I have seen girls who had never considered engineering suddenly imagine themselves designing solutions, solving climate challenges or inventing technologies that improve lives.

I have also seen boys do the same, in addition to developing a broader and more inclusive view of who belongs in engineering and leadership.

Equally as importantly, I have seen adults change too.

The women who become visible role models often discover something powerful themselves. As they step forward to inspire others, they begin to recognise their own expertise, confidence and potential.

Visibility changes not only how others see us. It changes how we see ourselves. That matters because confidence, belonging and aspiration are all contagious.

If We Want Faster Change, We Must Start Earlier

The challenge facing engineering is not simply a perception challenge. It is not simply a recruitment challenge. It is not simply a retention challenge. It is not even simply a leadership and culture challenge. It is all of those things simultaneously.

But one thing is clear.

If we want to accelerate change within our lifetime, we must intervene much earlier. Long before career decisions are made. Long before subject choices are selected. Long before stereotypes become deeply embedded.

We need children to encounter engineers they can relate to who look different, sound different and come from different backgrounds. We need them to see engineering as something that belongs to everyone.

Because if a child cannot see themselves in a future, they are less likely to pursue it. And if almost half the population cannot see themselves there, we still have a serious problem.

The Future Is Not Fixed

The most dangerous thing about the current statistics is not the percentage itself.

It is the assumption that the future trajectory is inevitable.

It is not.

Engineering is a profession built on solving seemingly impossible problems.

We design solutions where none previously existed. We overcome constraints. We innovate. We adapt. We improve.

If engineers can send spacecraft across the solar system, build structures that withstand earthquakes and create technologies that transform humanity, surely we can create a profession that reflects the society it serves.

But it will not happen by accident. It will happen because people decide it matters.

So, this International Women in Engineering Day, my challenge to you is -

Celebrate the amazing women in our industries and recognise how far we’ve come. But don’t stop there. Ask yourself -

Are you satisfied with how fast we’re moving?

Because if the answer is no, then you can be a part of accelerating change.

Whether that is inspiring the next generation, mentoring someone, challenging the status quo. We all have the power to make positive change on some scale and it all matters. We must be active, not passive.

The future of engineering depends on it. And so does the future that engineering creates.