To help encourage more women into engineering, Atkins led a unique survey in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering, Rolls-Royce and BP to ask 300 professional female UK engineers what inspired them to choose a career in engineering and how they feel about their choice. The result is the ‘Britain’s got talented female engineers’ report which provides fascinating insights, statistics and views which we hope will prove to be a hugely popular tool in inspiring a new generation of female engineers. Summary: Early years * The research confirmed there was no single age when women engineers developed their interest; very few had been following a single path from an early age * Many respondents didn’t study physics at school * Most women engineers (91%) had at least one inspirational teacher. * Knowing one or more engineers was frequently important. Almost four in ten women engineers had a family connection, most frequently their father, and 11% had a friend who was an engineer A Perfect Choice * Over 80 of female engineers are happy in their job * 98% of women engineers find their job rewarding. Most frequently (80%) this reward came in the shape of the successful projects their work had helped deliver Myths and Misunderstandings * Three-quarters believed engineering is still regarded as being ‘a male career’ * Just over two-thirds thought engineering was believed by too many to involve fixing engines * 43% said they believed engineers were thought to require physical strength Need for Awareness * Seven in eight believed greater awareness was needed of what engineers do * 77% believed greater awareness of the wide range of careers employing engineering graduates is needed * Almost two-thirds of women engineers believed that careers advice about engineering is weak * Over half of the sample (55%) said they believed potential students are being put off by an idea that engineering is ‘too difficult’. Fixing the future * Seven-in-ten women engineers said that the advice currently being given about engineering as a career needs improving * Almost two-thirds (64%) believe there should be greater efforts by recruiters of engineers to provide more work placements for girls to work alongside women engineers * A majority of 56% wanted to see more provision of women speakers in schools If you want to know more about working at Atkins please contact http://www.atkinsglobal.com/careers