It is the month of June, which means the countdown has begun to the International Women In Engineering Day (INWED) on the 23rd of June. INWED is the day set aside every year to celebrate Women in Engineering all over the world! The celebration was started in 2014 in the UK by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) and has now expanded into an international event. You can read more about it here. The theme for this year (#INWED21) is Engineering Heroes, where we celebrate female engineers and their heroic efforts in both everyday and emergency situations! I am so excited and looking forward to all the events lined up.
As we get ready to celebrate this year, I reminisce about last year’s #INWED20 events which focused on how we can #ShapeOurWorld and a celebration of Engineers in the field of sustainability.
It was so amazing to see many female engineers being celebrated in the run up to the day, as well as on the day itself! I also got the opportunity to attend and deliver the keynote speech at the virtual celebration organised by WES to mark the 100th year anniversary of WES. It was a great honour and privilege to be in the company of high achieving women and allies. I got to share my journey into engineering and how my engineering career and volunteering activities contribute to engineering sustainability.
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” – Brundtland Report, 1987
Engineering, at its core, is focused on providing solutions to complex challenges and needs. It is therefore very important for us to consider sustainability in every part of the process. The three pillars of sustainability (environmental, economic, social pillars) also play crucial roles in safety engineering principles.
We all have a role to play in the ensuring that we leave a sustainable future for the generations to come. This quote by Dame Jane Goodall DBE sums it up nicely for me;
´You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. – Dame Jane Goodall DBE
I cannot wait to attend and participate in #INWED21 events this month to celebrate Engineering Heroes! Which events do you have lined up? Which women heroes in engineering would you like to see celebrated this month and beyond?
Thank you for reading,
Titi x
Engineer Titi 