Shaping a More Inclusive Future in Engineering | INWED 2026

Despite progress, women account for only 16.9% of the UK engineering and tech workforce, and outdated stereotypes continue to shape perceptions of the field. The gap starts much earlier, with girls less likely to pursue STEM subjects long before they reach university or the workplace. These barriers highlight why visibility, encouragement, and support for women engineers matters more than ever.

To mark International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), we hosted an Engineers Speed Mentoring for Girls event, bringing secondary school students together with inspiring early‑career women engineers. In this blog, QEPrize Ambassadors Krystina Pearson-Rampeearee and Weam Mazen reflect on the event and what INWED means to them.

The Significance of INWED

Krystina: International Women In Engineering Day is an important day to recognise as it is an opportunity to celebrate the great achievements of women in engineering which deserve to be recognised and amplified. It is also important as it showcases to young women that they can be an engineer too! Visibility changes things and makes it feel possible and INWED does that.

Weam: INWED is a chance to celebrate the women who are shaping engineering and making a real impact in the field. It also shines a spotlight on how far the profession has come in becoming more inclusive, while reminding us there is still more to do. Most importantly, it helps inspire the next generation by showing young women and girls that engineering is a space where they can thrive, belong, and make a difference.

Why Diversity in Engineering Matters

Krystina: Diversity in engineering matters because engineering is fundamentally about solving problems - and today’s most urgent challenges, from climate change and sustainable aviation to healthcare technology and space exploration, demand a wide range of perspectives and ideas. The best way to come up with creative solutions to these problems is by having engineers who think differently all working together. Diverse engineering teams produce safer products, more innovative solutions and better decisions.

Weam: Diversity in engineering is so important because representation matters. When young people can see someone who looks like them succeeding in engineering, it becomes easier for them to believe that they can succeed too. It helps break down the idea that engineering is only for certain people and shows that there is space for everyone. Diverse teams also bring different perspectives, ideas, and experiences, which leads to better thinking, better problem-solving, and ultimately better engineering.

Inspiring the Next Generation

Krystina: Through my role as a QEPrize Ambassador I am able to share my engineering career journey with young women, including the challenges that I overcame and answer any questions they may have about what it’s like to be an engineer. For me, it’s important to share the failures I faced along the way, so that they can learn from it and not let the fear of failure hold them back. By doing this, I’m able to make an impact, change their perceptions of what an engineer may look like, and what engineering is.

Weam: I use my role as a QEPrize Ambassador to be that representation for young women and girls as someone they can see, relate to, and feel comfortable approaching. I want to be a welcoming person they can ask questions to, and I try to be open and honest about my own experiences in engineering. Sometimes, simply seeing someone who feels approachable can make engineering seem more possible and less intimidating. If I can help young girls feel that they belong in this space, and encourage them to take that first step, then that representation can have a real impact.

Reflections on the Engineers Speed Mentoring for Girls Event

Krystina: I think the Engineers Speed Mentoring for Girls event was a success for several reasons. The girls had the opportunity to speak directly with engineers working across a wide variety of sectors, which helped bring to life the message that engineering truly is everywhere, not just one industry or one type of role.

For the girls who were less confident, the speed mentoring structure created a safe and supportive space to ask the questions they might not have felt comfortable asking otherwise. As a facilitator on this occasion, I was able to see how the girls gained confidence during the session and made the most of the chance to talk to engineers in real life.

Representation matters and having role models in the room who were both accessible and genuinely approachable was really valuable. I wish I had been able to have an opportunity like this when I was younger and considering a career in engineering.

Weam: The event gave the girls the chance to speak to lots of different engineers from a range of backgrounds and disciplines. That variety is so important, because it helps show that there isn’t just one path into engineering or one type of person who belongs in it. It also created a safe and welcoming space where they could ask honest questions, hear real experiences, and explore their curiosity without feeling judged. For me, that openness is what made the event so valuable, and it helped make engineering feel more accessible, relatable, and possible.

Advice for Aspiring Women Engineers

Krystina: My advice to a young woman considering engineering as a career is to keep being curious and don’t be afraid to ask questions. In my experience, curiosity and the willingness to ask questions are two of the most underrated things a young person can bring to the beginning of an engineering career.

Questions are how you find out what is possible. Engineering is not one career, it is hundreds, aerospace, civil, mechanical, electrical, biomedical, software and more. Within each discipline are dozens of different roles, different routes in and different ways to build a career that fits your life.

Ask your teachers, your careers adviser, the engineers you meet at open days and STEM events. Most engineers, particularly women in engineering, are genuinely happy to talk to a young person who is curious about engineering.

Weam: Don’t doubt whether you belong in engineering - you absolutely do! If you’re curious, interested, or excited by the idea of creating, improving, and solving problems, then engineering could be for you. Don’t let the fear of standing out hold you back. Every woman who chooses engineering helps open the door a little wider for the next. Be bold, trust your abilities, and take that first step. Engineering needs more women, more ideas, and more voices like yours. Some of the best engineers I’ve worked with are women, and that’s why I know the future of engineering is brighter when more young women choose to be part of it.

Visit our gallery to see more images from our Engineers Speed Mentoring for Girls event at the Science Museum.