Abstract
Women have played a large role in innovation and engineering but we often don’t learn of their successes. Only 12% of engineers in the UK are women. Could this be because we promote the success of men ahead of women? Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford and Elon Musk are household names but the successes of Hedy Lamarr or Mary Jackson are not well known. There are many female inventions that have changed our world from Mary Anderson’s windscreen wiper in 1902 to Alice Min Soo Chun’s self-inflatable portable solar light in 2015. Education plays a key role in encouraging the next generation and female role models and mentors can help break down stereotypes. In addition, recognising the achievements of women in engineering could influence more girls to see themselves as engineers. Would promoting the success of women in engineering tackle the STEM gender gap?
