Press Release 27 June 2018Women’s Engineering Society (WES)Announcing the Top 50 Women in Engineering (WE50) 2018

The Women’s Engineering Society (WES) celebrated 2018’s Top 50 Women in Engineering (WE50) in partnership with The Telegraph at a high-profile event at Royal Academy for Engineering on 26 June. The WE50 winners this year represent the top 50 female Returners and Transferrers in engineering and allied sectors.

The WE50 winners represent the very broad range of routes it is possible to follow for a career in engineering. Sectors in which the winning women are employed include structural and electronic engineering, health, environment and academia. Our winners are all at very different stages in their careers, varying from early career engineers to senior leadership and from a crane operator to lecturers. The WE50 winners were awarded their trophies at an International Women in Engineering Day Afternoon Tea event held by Women’s Engineering Society, hosted at the Royal Academy of Engineering.

The event was the first chance to meet all the WE50 winners (see photo), a fantastic example of the achievements of women in engineering. WE50 winner, Savina Carluccio said of her achievement, “Being recognised as one of this year’s Top 50 women in engineering is humbling and thrilling at the same time. I hope my example will inspire other female colleagues and encourage them not to be afraid to take time off to look after their young families or to take different paths in their engineering career”.

The judges had to make difficult decisions, as WES received nearly 200 high quality nominations from a wide range of STEM sectors, career stages, career routes and backgrounds. There were some amazing stories amongst the nominated women – all of whom deserve our congratulations.

“The nominations were all amazing. For the Top 50, we looked for women who had overcome hurdles and returned to or transferred into/or across roles in engineering. In addition, they have all demonstrated that they are doing something to help support and inspire other women to succeed and progress in engineering whether it is working within their organisation through mentoring or inspiring young women through STEM activities for example” remarked Kirsten Bodley, Chief Executive of WES, on the winners and their achievements.

---------------END----------

Notes to Editors

Photographs of the winners are available on request to Jess Aries inwed@wes.org.uk . Photographs of the WE50 event will be available online from 1 July 2018 via www.inwed.org.uk/2018

The list of the 50 Top Women Engineers is available here: http://www.inwed.org.uk/top-50-women-in-engineering.html and noted below.

The WE50 campaign was jointly coordinated by the Telegraph and the Women’s Engineering Society and sponsored by Scottish Power

WE50 WE50 is one of the key events taking place for International Women in Engineering Day 2018. Hundreds of other exciting INWED18 events have already taken place to celebrate female engineers and raise the profile of engineering to women and girls, with more events still planned on 23 June and in the weeks to come. Hundreds of events have been registered in the UK and across the world, from Canada and the USA to Spain, Panama, Pakistan, Tanzania, Nepal and Cameroon. They range from talks, tours, open days and debates to innovative hands on art works, competitions, networking events, site visits, videos, webinars and campaigns. The events can be explored at www.inwed.org.uk

International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) is an annual event developed and coordinated by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) to celebrate the achievements of women in engineering and inspire younger generations. It takes place on and around 23 June – the date of the foundation of WES in 1919. For full details of events taking place around the world under the INWED banner go to www.inwed.org.uk/events-2018.html

The Women’s Engineering Society Founded in 1919, the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) is a professional, not-for-profit network of women engineers, scientists and technologists offering inspiration, support and professional development. Although the world has changed since a group of women decided to band together to create an organisation to support women in engineering after the First World War, the need is still there. WES works in a number of ways to support women in STEM, to encourage the study and application of engineering, to promote gender equality in the workplace, and to award excellence and encourage achievement through our awards and grants schemes. WES will be celebrating its centenary in 2019. www.wes.org.uk Twitter: @WES1919 #INWED18 @WESCentenary For further information about the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) contact: Women’s Engineering Society, Michael Faraday House, Six Hills Way, Stevenage, Herts. SG1 2AY Tel. 01438 765506 email info@wes.org.uk

Speakers at the WE50 Event:Kirsten Bodley, Chief Executive, Women’s Engineering SocietyAfter graduating with a Chemistry degree from King’s College, London, Kirsten started her career as an Industrial Development Chemist with Courtaulds (Coatings). She then gained an MBA (Innovation) from Imperial College, London and joining KPMG Consulting as a Management Consultant specialising in R&D in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. In 2005 she joined STEMNET as a Director becoming CEO in 2010 for 6 years. Kirsten became Chief Executive of WES (Women’s Engineering Society) in 2016. She is also a Trustee at Founders4Schools. Dr Hayaatun Sillem, Chief Executive, Royal Academy of EngineeringDr Sillem has extensive leadership experience in UK and international engineering, innovation and diversity & inclusion activities. She has a Masters in Biochemistry (MBiochem) from the University of

Oxford and a PhD in signal transduction from Cancer Research UK/University College London. She is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology. Allan E Cook CBE, Chairman, High Value Manufacturing CatapultAllan is Industry co-chair of the Defence Growth Partnership (DGP) and from March 2018 he is chair of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. He is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering where he is Vice President and serves as a trustee for the Academy. He also chairs the Academy’s employer-focused Diversity Leadership Group. Allan became a Fellow of the China 48 Group Club in December 2015 and a member of the Chairman’s Forum with the World Economic Forum. He was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list in 2008, and received an honorary Doctorate in Science from Cranfield University in 2016.

Judges for the WE50 2018 prize John McCollum (BAE)Jennifer Dimambro (Arup)Alison Baptiste (Environment Agency)Ian Cartwright (National Grid)Katy Toms (WSP)

Top 50 Women in Engineering 2018 Returners and TransferrersKatie Atkinson, Materials Engineer, Jaguar Land RoverKate Black, University Lecturer, University of LiverpoolCheryl Blenkinsop, Lead Engineer – Development, SP Energy NetworksEmma Booth, Senior Project Manager, Black & VeatchKaren Britton, Technical Director, AECOMEmma Browning, Environment Manager, Scottish Power RenewablesAntje Budge, Design Coordinator, Balfour BeattySamantha Burchell, Operations Manager, UK Power NetworksIsobel Byrne Hill, Senior Engineer, ArupKate Cairns, Founder, Cairns ConsultancySavina Carluccio, Associate, ArupDr Fiona Charnley, Senior Lecturer in Circular Innovation, Cranfield UniversityDr Sarah Chen , Civil Engineer, EDF EnergyDr Lorna Dallas, Graduate Safety Engineer, Babcock International GroupRachael De'Ath, Senior Engineer, ArupKellie Dillon, Innovation Workstream Lead, UK Power NetworksAgata Downey, Engineer, Elliott WoodKaren Friendship, Managing Director, Alderman Tooling LtdPenny Gowler, Associate Director, Elliott Wood Partnership LtdNicola Grahamslaw, Ship's Conservation Engineer, SS Great Britain TrustHilary Hill, Director of Engineering Operations, KBR UK LtdIsobel Houghton, Senior Engineer, AtkinsSharon Jones, Eagle Lab Engineer, Barclays Eagle LabsKatie Kelleher, Crane Operator, Laing O'RourkeLouisa King, Project Engineer , Waterco ConsultantsKeely King, Area Manager—Gas Mains Replacement, Triio

Georgina Lockwood, Senior Engineer, ArupLeah Lucien, Graduate Mechanical Engineer, ChapmanBDSPEur Ing Dr Phebe Mann, Chartered Engineer, Institution of Civil EngineersStacey Marple, Project Development Manager, Monitor Coatings LtdLisa Matthews, Associate, Arup/CEO, HellyHollyLouise Maynard-Atem, Innovation Exchange Lead, BAE SystemsDanielle McGrellis, Senior Engineer, ArupAngela McIntosh, Design Project Engineer, SP Energy NetworksCarol Morris, Senior Lecturer-Engineering & Innovation, Open UniversityLisa Montague, Business Intelligence Engineer, BAE SystemsFi Neoh, Senior Consultant, AmeyHayley Oakes, Offshore Project Engineer, ODEMaria Ribera Vincent, Teaching Fellow, Imperial College LondonNicole Saunders, Aviation Consultant, Osprey Consulting Services LtdProfessor Emma Sparks, Head of the Centre for Systems Engineering, Cranfield UniversitySarah Tattersall, Associate, ArupDr Emma Taylor, Lead Systems Safety Engineer, RSSBJulie Verrill, Junior Technician, CundallRuth Voisey, Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Dyson Technology LtdCatherine Wenger, Director, ArupTammy Whelan, Apprentice Civil Engineer, ArupDr Connie Wilson, Senior Systems Engineer, BAE Systems Maritime – Naval ShipsKate Young, Senior Mechanical Engineer, SkanskaEllie Zemani, Project Engineer, Spirit Energy