Campaign aims to get more women into science and engineering

Manifold benefits: Di Carter (left) with pupils Maria Selville (front) and Emma Heslop (back), and Emma Holt of The Manufacturing Institute

Carter joined other women who are excelling in the world of science, manufacturing, engineering and construction to show 300 schoolgirls the exciting career opportunities available in sectors traditionally dominated by males.

“Why should boys have all the fun?” said Carter. “Engineering is a great career for both males and females, especially if you are nosey and like investigating things and figuring out how stuff works.

“In my current role, I’m a lone female engineer in an office with 18 male engineers and that’s fairly typical. It’s a great shame that girls are shunning engineering as a career option and turning their backs on what is a really interesting and rewarding job.”

Carter told the 11-12 year old girls that they too can make their way in industry and talked to them about her role, which involves carrying out quality and environmental tests on many different components used in aircraft. She showed them a manifold (pictured) for a next generation helicopter.

The Challenging Stereotypes event at North Manchester High School for Girls was designed to raise the aspirations of the girls by introducing them to positive female role models from a variety of industrial careers. It was run by The Manufacturing Institute, a charity dedicated to promoting manufacturing excellence, and Education Business Solutions.

It forms part of the Manufacturing Institute’s Make It in Manufacturing campaign (www.makeit.org.uk) which aims to promote manufacturing as an exciting and rewarding career destination and recruit the new talent into the sector.

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