Curtis-Thomas to open new HQ

An UK Resource Centre for Women in SET product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 8, 2005

The first woman professional engineer to enter the House of Commons in the history of British Parliament will be in Bradford today to take part in International Women's Day celebrations.

The first woman professional engineer to enter the House of Commons in the history of British Parliament will be in Bradford today (8th March 2005) to take part in International Women's Day celebrations.

Claire Curtis-Thomas MP will be at the UK Resource Centre for Women in SET (UKRC) to officially open the organisation's new HQ and to participate in a day of activities organised by the UKRC to celebrate the achievements of women in science, engineering and technology (SET).

Over 100 representatives will attend from industry, local government, regional development agencies and women in SET organisations.

The UKRC aims to increase the participation of women in SET through work with existing networks of employers, government departments and stakeholders in the SET industry and provide support and guidance to women and girls already working or thinking about a career in SET.

The centre offers information, advice and resources to support to women at various stages in career development and is about to launch a new campaign that will encourage women who have left the industries to return.

As part of a day-long programme of events the UKRC brought together rising stars from the SET industries - including Faye Banks, who was recently crowned Young Engineer of the Year - and female entrepreneurs from across the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Entrepreneur Brenda Hopkins, Chairman of Feonic, a physics company based in Hull said: "It's really refreshing to have the opportunity to meet with like minded people, to discuss not only the barriers to success and how these can be overcome but also to focus on the achievements of women who are succeeding in a male dominated industry against the odds".

Only 4.3% of women compared with 11% of men are involved in starting-up new business ventures, and the figures for SET are significantly lower.

A man is, therefore, two and a half times more likely than a woman to be an entrepreneur.

International Women's Day (8th March) is marked by women's organisations worldwide to acknowledge the social, political, cultural and economic accomplishments of women.

In the UK women now represent 51% of the workforce but are still significantly under-represented in some professions.

This includes science, engineering and technology where women account for just 18.7 % of workers.

The UKRC is leading a strategic effort to address this issue and is using International Women's Day to highlight the positive contribution that women are making to the UK's SET industries.

Annette Williams, UKRC Director today said: "International Women's Day symbolises equality, advancement and the accomplishments of women".

"I don't think there could have been a more fitting day on which to hold the opening the new UKRC building, nor could we have hoped for a more adept person to lead the ceremony than Claire Curtis-Thomas - a woman with some twenty years of experience in engineering and industry".

"This event is without question a significant and historic occasion for the city of Bradford and for the region as a whole".

Funded by the DTI until 2007, the UKRC is the latest in a chain of successful gender-focused initiatives to come out of Bradford College since 1998.

Bradford is the only FE college in the UK to have a department dedicated to Gender Equality for Women in SET.

As head of the newly established department and director of the UKRC, Annette Williams is herself fast becoming a shining example of a woman who is achieving great things in SET.