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Women's Engineering Society

{{short description|Women's engineering organisation}}

{{distinguish|Society of Women Engineers}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}

{{Infobox organization

| image =

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| logo = WESlogo.svg

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| predecessor =

| formation = 1919

| status = Charity

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| coords = {{coord|51.896062|-0.202365|display=inline, title}}

| services =

| leader_title = President

| leader_name = Dr Katherine Critchley

| board_of_directors = Dr Katherine Critchley, Sarah Haslam MBE, Chrisma Jain, Dr Tosha Nembhard,

Professor Vince Pizzoni, Aniela Foster-Turner, Kate Willis, Alysha Ratansi, Laura Shrieves, Susan McDonald, Dr Caitlin McCall, Dr Judith Abolle.

| key_people = Susan Robson, interim Chief Executive Officer

| main_organ = [https://www.wes.org.uk/news/The-Woman-Engineer The Woman Engineer]

| affiliations =

| name = Women's Engineering Society

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| abbreviation = WES

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| location = Futures Place, Stevenage, Hertfordshire

| region = United Kingdom

| fields = Engineering

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| website = {{URL|http://www.wes.org.uk/}}

}}

The Women's Engineering Society is a United Kingdom professional learned society and networking body for women engineers, scientists and technologists. It was the first professional body set up for women working in all areas of engineering, predating the Society of Women Engineers by around 30 years.{{Cite book|last=Heald, Henrietta.|title=Magnificent Women and Their Revolutionary Machines.|date=2020|publisher=Unbound|isbn=978-1-78352-660-4|oclc=1134535786}}

History

The society was formed on 23 June 1919, after the First World War, during which many women had taken up roles in engineering to replace men who were involved in the military effort.{{cite book|last1=Canel|first1=Annie|last2=Oldenziel|first2=Ruth|author2-link=Ruth Oldenziel|title=Crossing Boundaries, Building Bridges|date=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135286811|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s-aNAgAAQBAJ|access-date=27 November 2017|language=en|chapter=Am I a Lady or an Engineer? The Origins of the Women's Engineering Society in Britain, 1918-1940}}{{Cite book|last=Heald, Henrietta|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1080083743|title=Magnificent women and their revolutionary machines|year=2019|isbn=978-1-78352-660-4|location=London|oclc=1080083743}} While it had been seen as necessary to bring women into engineering to fill the gap left by men joining the armed forces, the government, employers, and trades unions were against the continuing employment of women after the war. The Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act 1919 gave soldiers returning from World War I their pre-war jobs back and meant many women could no longer work in roles they were employed to fill during the war.{{Cite web|title=Changing role of women in wartime|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zr64jxs/revision/5#:~:text=The%20Restoration%20of%20Pre%2DWar,workers%20were%20no%20longer%20needed.|access-date=2020-06-24|website=BBC Bitesize: Domestic impact of war: society and culture}}

This led a group of seven women, including Lady Katharine Parsons, her daughter Rachel Parsons, Lady Margaret Moir, Laura Annie Willson, Eleanor Shelley-Rolls, Janetta Mary Ornsby, and Margaret Rowbotham to form the Women's Engineering Society, with the aim of enabling women to gain training, jobs and acceptance in engineering fields.{{Cite journal|last=Women's Engineering Society|title=The Woman Engineer|url=http://www2.theiet.org/resources/library/archives/research/wes/WES_Vol_1.html|journal=The Woman Engineer|volume=1|issue=1|pages=1|archive-date=10 June 2020|access-date=4 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610134725/https://www2.theiet.org/resources/library/archives/research/wes/WES_Vol_1.html|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|last=Gooday|first=Graeme|date=2019-08-07|title=Who launched the Women's Engineering Society in 1919?|url=https://electrifyingwomen.org/who-launched-the-womens-engineering-society-in-1919/|access-date=2020-06-24|website=Electrifying Women|language=en-GB}}{{Cite news|last=Koerner|first=Emily Rees|date=2020-06-16|title=Why the Women's Engineering Society still has its work cut out after 100 years|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jun/16/womens-engineering-society-100-years-inventors-suffragettes|access-date=2020-06-24|issn=0261-3077}} The Society's first Secretary was Caroline Haslett.{{Cite web|title=Archives Biographies: Dame Caroline Haslett|url=https://www.theiet.org/publishing/library-archives/the-iet-archives/biographies/dame-caroline-haslett/|access-date=2020-06-24|website=www.theiet.org|language=en-US|archive-date=15 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715065808/https://www.theiet.org/publishing/library-archives/the-iet-archives/biographies/dame-caroline-haslett/|url-status=dead}} From 1926 the Society had Theodora Llewelyn Davies{{Cite web|title=Davies [married name Calvert], Theodora Llewelyn (1898–1988), barrister and penal reform campaigner|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-112062|website=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|year=2018|language=en|doi=10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.112062|access-date=2020-05-25|last1=Logan|first1=Anne|isbn=9780198614128}} as Honorary Legal Adviser, followed by Helena Normanton,{{Cite web|title=The Woman Engineer Vol 4|url=https://www2.theiet.org/resources/library/archives/research/wes/WES_Vol_4a.html|last=|first=|date=|website=www2.theiet.org|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-05-25}} two of the earliest women allowed to be barristers.

Early members in the 1920s and 1930s included Verena Holmes, Hilda Lyon and Margaret Partridge. Pilot and engineer, Amy Johnson, who was the first woman to fly solo from the United Kingdom to Australia, was a member of WES and served as president between 1935 and 1937.{{Cite web|title=History {{!}} Women's Engineering Society|url=https://www.wes.org.uk/content/history|access-date=2020-06-24|website=www.wes.org.uk|archive-date=2 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502152219/https://www.wes.org.uk/content/history|url-status=dead}} A registry of members from 1935 shows there were members from across the world, such as the United States of America, including sociologist and industrial engineer Lillian Gilbreth, and Germany, including Asta Hampe and Ilse Knot-ter Meer.{{Cite web|last=Rees|first=Emily|date=2019-08-22|title=Learning more from the archives: the Register of Women Engineers, 1935|url=https://electrifyingwomen.org/learning-more-from-the-archives-the-register-of-women-engineers-1935/|access-date=2020-06-24|website=Electrifying Women|language=en-GB}}

The Society celebrated its 95th year in 2014 with the launch of International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) on 23 June 2014.{{cite web |title=International Women in Engineering Day |url=http://www.inwed.org.uk |access-date=15 December 2022 |website=International Women in Engineering Day |publisher=Women's Engineering Society}} To this day the Society continues to organise INWED and set the annual theme. The Society celebrated its centenary in 2019 with the launch of the WES Centenary Trail,{{Cite web |title=WES Centenary Trail Project {{!}} Women's Engineering Society |url=https://www.wes.org.uk/WESCentenaryTrail |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=www.wes.org.uk |archive-date=7 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207125407/https://www.wes.org.uk/WESCentenaryTrail |url-status=dead }} a project to highlight the historic stories of women engineers.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wes.org.uk/WESCentenaryTrail|title=WES Centenary Trail|date=2020-03-04|website=Women's Engineering Society|access-date=4 March 2020|archive-date=7 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207125407/https://www.wes.org.uk/WESCentenaryTrail|url-status=dead}}

Work and campaigns

Society members have advised the UK government on evolving employment practices for women. Constituted as a professional society with membership grades based on qualification and experience, the society promotes the study and practice of engineering and allied sciences among women.

WES is represented by groups. The work of the groups focuses on:

  • support to members and women engineers in general,
  • encouragement of women to study engineering and take up engineering careers,
  • promotion of corporate gender diversity,
  • speaking as the collective voice of women engineers.

{{Infobox journal

| title = The Woman Engineer

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| image =

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| abbreviation = Woman Eng.

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| history = 1919–present

| frequency = Quarterly

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| OCLC = 964861124

| website = https://www.wes.org.uk/content/woman-engineer

| link1 = https://www.theiet.org/publishing/library-archives/the-iet-archives/the-woman-engineer-journal/

| link1-name = Online access

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}}

The society produces the journal The Woman Engineer which was edited by Caroline Haslett in its early years.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theiet.org/publishing/library-archives/the-iet-archives/online-exhibitions/women-and-engineering/the-woman-engineer-journal/|title=The Woman Engineer Journal}} The journal contained technical articles in its early years but now gives a view of work in engineering disciplines and women's involvement in them.{{cite web|title=Woman Engineer journal online exhibition|url=http://www.theiet.org/resources/library/archives/exhibition/women/wes-journal.cfm|website=www.theiet.org|publisher=The IET|access-date=27 November 2017|archive-date=28 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628181539/https://www.theiet.org/resources/library/archives/exhibition/women/wes-journal.cfm|url-status=dead}} The digital archive of the journal is held by the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

The Women's Engineering Society holds an annual conference, a student conference and regional workshops and networking events.

= Outreach to schools =

In 1969, President Verena Holmes left a legacy to fund an annual lecture to inspire school girls. Run by the Verena Holmes Trust, the first lecture tour was in 1969 during the first UK Women in Engineering Year.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wes.org.uk/content/verena-holmes-lecture-series|title=The Verena Holmes Lecture Series {{!}} Women's Engineering Society|website=www.wes.org.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-06-18|archive-date=21 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621195144/https://www.wes.org.uk/content/verena-holmes-lecture-series|url-status=dead}} It was delivered at various venues to children aged nine to eleven to encourage their interest in engineering,[http://wes.org.uk/content/verena-holmes Women's Engineering Society: Role Models] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208033334/http://wes.org.uk/content/verena-holmes |date=8 February 2017 }}; accessed 24 February 2013][http://www.imeche.org/About-Us/scholarships-and-awards/recognition-awards/Prestige-Awards/the-verena-winifred-holmes-award Verena Holmes Lecture], wes.org.uk; accessed 22 June 2015. The lectures were given by leading engineers with Mary Kendrick giving the lecture in 1981.{{Cite journal|last=Kendrick|first=Mary|date=1988-10-01|title=The Thames barrier|url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2F0169-2046%2888%2990034-5|journal=Landscape and Urban Planning|series=Special Issue The Landscape of Water|language=en|volume=16|issue=1|pages=57–68|doi=10.1016/0169-2046(88)90034-5|issn=0169-2046}}

Members provided the 'technical women power' for the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) buses that were launched following the WISE Year in 1984, an initiative that continued into the 1990s.{{Cite web |title=The History of WISE |url=https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/the-history-of-wise/ |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=WISE |language=en-GB}}

In 2014 WES set up an outreach programme called Magnificent Women (and their flying machines) which replicates the work that women did during the First World War in making aircraft wings, and this was aimed at secondary school girls.{{cite web|title=Magnificent Women|url=http://www.wes.org.uk/content/magnificent-women|website=www.wes.org.uk|publisher=Women's Engineering Society|access-date=27 November 2017|language=en}} The programme was discontinued in 2018 as the Society refocused its campaigns on supporting the engineering industry to be more inclusive.{{Cite web |title=About WES - who we are {{!}} Women's Engineering Society |url=https://www.wes.org.uk/content/about-wes-who-we-are |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=www.wes.org.uk}}

= MentorSET =

MentorSET is a mentoring scheme for engineers, inspired by the WES President Petra Gratton (née Godwin) in 2000.{{cite web|title=Mentor SET|url=http://www.mentorset.org.uk/|website=Mentor SET|access-date=27 November 2017|archive-date=17 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117131343/http://www.mentorset.org.uk/|url-status=dead}} The scheme was a collaborative project with national network of women scientists (AWISE). It was a mentoring scheme to help women in their career and to support them back into engineering after a career break. MentorSET has been funded by DTI, the UK Resource Centre for Women in SET, and BAE Systems. In 2015 the MentorSET programme was relaunched with funding from DECC, now BEIS and Women in Nuclear and is now relevant to women working in science and technology as well as engineering.

Membership

Members are drawn from women who have entered the profession through routes varying from traditional apprenticeship to higher education leading to graduate and further degrees. The participation of male engineers in the society is encouraged.

Current membership includes 2,164 members and over 120 corporate and education partners.{{Cite web |last=Admin |date=2024-11-27 |title=Annual Report and feedback for the AGM 2024 - Women's Engineering Society |url=https://www.wes.org.uk/2024/11/27/annual-general-meeting-agm-feedback/ |access-date=2025-03-25 |language=en-GB}} Approximately half of members are individual members, including those self-funding, students, and apprentices in the field of engineering.

Governance

The Women's Engineering Society is a charitable company, governed by the president and the Board of Directors of the Company, who are also Trustees of the Charity.{{Cite web |title=Trustees and Members of Directors' Committees {{!}} Women's Engineering Society |url=https://www.wes.org.uk/board |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=www.wes.org.uk}} Day-to-day operations are delegated to the chief executive officer and staff.

Presidents

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Notable historical members

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See also

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • {{Official website|http://www.wes.org.uk/}}
  • [https://www.theiet.org/membership/library-archives/the-iet-archives/online-exhibitions/women-and-engineering/the-woman-engineer-journal/ The Woman Engineer] journal archives
  • [http://www.mentorset.org.uk/ MentorSET] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100322225628/http://www.mentorset.org.uk/ |date=22 March 2010 }}
  • [https://www.inwed.org.uk International Women in Engineering Day]

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Category:Engineering societies based in the United Kingdom

Category:Institution of Engineering and Technology

Category:Organisations based in Hertfordshire

Category:Organizations established in 1919

Category:Science and technology in Hertfordshire

Category:Stevenage

Category:Women in engineering

Category:Women's organisations based in the United Kingdom

Category:1919 establishments in the United Kingdom

Category:History of women in the United Kingdom