Engineering Women: Are they Returning?

Engineering Women: Are they Returning? The Women's Engineering Society 2015 conference is focusing on the theme of women returning to engineering. It has been estimated that 22,000 qualified women have not returned to the engineering sector after a career or maternity break, and these are skills that we can ill afford to lose when we face such a massive skills gap in the coming years. Not only are we losing out on these skills in engineering - skills that are often enhanced in many ways during the breaks - but we are failing to utilise the links that these women have with their local communities, schools, and other parents/influencers. With a bit of thought, organisation and encouragement we could mobilise this untapped resource and either reintroduce these skilled women to the engineering sector, or use them as ambassadors for our profession in other ways. This conference explores the opportunities and some of the best practices that are out there to access and utilise this neglected resource. Conference Chair: Meg Munn MP Session 1:

• Keynote Address: Government Minister (to be confirmed after election)
• Women in STEM: Are you IN or OUT? Overview of 2014 survey | Sue Ferns, Prospect Union
• Returnship Programmes: The Advantages | Catherine Lewis, Vice President Goldman Sachs

Session 2: Chaired by Philippa Oldham, Institution of Mechanical Engineers

• The Open University STEM Returners Course Relaunch | Clem Herman, Open University
• The Daphne Jackson Trust for Women Returners, Katie Perry CEO Daphne Jackson Trust
• Alternative Roles for Women Engineers, Kate Bellingham (tbc)
• What Can Be Done by the Professional Engineering Institutions, The IET (tbc)

Session 3: Corporate Best Practice Ten minute presentations on corporate current best practices.

• The Family Network | Vicky Evans, Arup
• Atkins
• BRE
• Chantelle Ludski, Hyder Consulting
• Thames Tideway Returners Programme (tbc)
• Rachel Morris, Project Engineer Laing O'Rourke
• Katy Ghahremani, Make Architects
• Practical support available for women returners, My Family Care

(Please contact the WES office if you would like to take part.) Session 4: Panel Discussion Chaired By Meg Munn Panel members drawn from previous session. In addition to this main stream of presentations will be some Continued Professional Development Workshops for Women Engineers. Continued Professional Development for Female Engineers Session 2. Personal Development CPD Session Susan Room FRSA | Professional Coach, Dramatically Different Coaching Session 3. Career Development CPD Session Carol Stewart MSc, Abounding Solutions Session 4: Magnificent Women Training Session There will a training session here for WES Members, volunteers or STEM Ambassadors who would like to learn more about delivering the WES outreach activity Magnificent Women and their Flying Machines. For further details see the Magnificent Women website here . Booking for this is available at a reduced rate and includes access to the WES conference. However, delegates who book for but do not attend this session will be charged the full rate of admission. The conference will be followed by a networking session with light refreshments. Please get in touch if you would be interested in sponsoring this networking session. Women in Motorsport Evening Event. There will be an evening event in the same venue organised by Institution of Mechanical Engineers on the theme of Women in Motorsport. Further details to follow. Book your place here. Costs:

• WES Members: £50 (Concessions: £30)
• Non-WES Members: £90 (Concessions: £50)
• Students: £20