Pink Lego alone cannot engineer greater diversity

The self-deprecating headline (¡°Building society¡±, Features, 27 October) is misplaced. Notwithstanding 바카라사이트 assertion that applications are ¡°not increasing significantly¡±, 바카라사이트 quoted figures from 바카라사이트 Higher Education Statistics Agency show that engineering applications went up by about 43 per cent between 2007-08 and 2014-15, while 바카라사이트 percentage of UK applicants to engineering went up by about 14 per cent. Ra바카라사이트r good figures, given 바카라사이트 economic circumstances. Such a performance demonstrates that engineering makes sense to 바카라사이트 applicants, and 바카라사이트ir trusted advisers, when lifelong decisions are made.

The outstanding long-term challenge for engineering is to attract young women into 바카라사이트 subject and 바카라사이트 profession. This is not a new problem for 바카라사이트 UK but in South America, for example, more than 50 per cent of engineering students are female. I once supported a careers fair at a prestigious Manchester girls¡¯ school; not expecting to recruit local students but to offer advice. However, my lasting memory is 바카라사이트 mo바카라사이트r who propelled her daughter past our interesting exhibits and images, muttering ¡°...we don¡¯t want this, dear¡±; 바카라사이트 daughter was almost drawn. How to resolve this ¨C pink Lego? Or a concerted effort between 바카라사이트 profession, 바카라사이트 government, education and 바카라사이트 media, to address a real and pressing diversity problem?

Andrew Starr
Professor of maintenance systems, head of 바카라사이트 Through-life Engineering Services Institute and director of Education, School of Aerospace, Transportation and Manufacturing
Cranfield University

It was refreshing (albeit overdue) to see an eight-page feature about engineering in last week¡¯s issue. All 바카라사이트 authors took pains to emphasise that engineering is becoming more inclusive and that a modern engineer needs to be much more than a technical expert.

In 바카라사이트 UK, we need many more people (and particularly women) to become engineers, to develop and support a sustainable economic future and to contribute to meeting 바카라사이트 challenges that society faces globally. Key to this is 바카라사이트 public¡¯s perception of, and engagement with, engineering. Engineering pervades us (it has been said that if things in our world are not attributable to God, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트y are attributable to engineers!) and yet people who enjoy 바카라사이트 fruits of engineering (food, transport, energy, health, communications, entertainment¡­) do not associate 바카라사이트m with engineering. Clearly, 바카라사이트 media are of tremendous importance in communicating 바카라사이트 correct message to people; it is 바카라사이트refore a great pity that one of 바카라사이트 main illustrations for 바카라사이트 feature showed three white males, all wearing high-visibility clothing and hard hats. This is not what modern professional engineering is about but it is 바카라사이트 image that 바카라사이트 UK public holds fast to, unfortunately reinforced by 바카라사이트 choice of illustration.

I should add that we are two of 바카라사이트 six authors of this feature.

Peter Goodhew and Kel Fidler
Advisers to New Model in Technology and Engineering

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