International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) takes place annually on 23 June, dedicated to raising the profile and celebrating the achievements of women in engineering. INWED was created by the Women's Engineering Society (WES) in 2014 to celebrate its 95th anniversary.
At Leonardo, we know that creativity and innovation comes from diversity. Throughout our history, women engineers have played an integral role in our company's development, and continue to do so today in many engineering disciplines and at all levels – from apprentices and graduates to senior leaders.
In celebration of INWED each year, Leonardo participates in and supports a range of activities, including a STEM challenge run in conjunction with educational and engineering charities such as The Smallpeice Trust and Engineering Development Trust (EDT), as well as partners such as the Association for BME Engineers (AFBE-UK). Recently, we also hosted AeroWomen, an event conceived by some of our women STEM ambassadors to provide networking opportunities for women already working in aerospace, and a platform for the future generation to meet potential employers and understand that there is space for them in this arena.
These activities are supplemented by us striving for gender equality through our Equalise Network Group; closing the gender pay gap; encouraging women back into engineering through STEM Returners; developing women's skills and abilities, and building confidence, assertiveness and a positive image through Springboard; and being a signatory of the Women in Defence Charter and Women in Defence Mentoring Programme.
With only 9% of the UK's engineering workforce being women, there is a national effort to increase the number of girls studying STEM subjects in secondary school, which in turn may encourage them to pursue STEM careers. This is another reason Leonardo is committed to increasing girls' confidence in the field of STEM and strengthening the future talent pipeline of women engineers.
Meet some of our award-winning women engineers
At Leonardo, we are incredibly proud of the contributions of all the women engineers within our business, and in particular those who have been recognised by their peers and industry, including the annual WES Top 50 Women in Engineering Awards announced each year on INWED. Discover more about their award-winning achievements.