women's engineering society
DESCRIPTION
Presented by: Carol MarshTRANSCRIPT
How Their Lives Shaped Our Lives Dr Carol Marsh
President
Women’s Engineering Society www.wes.org.uk
• Inspiring Women - Rachel Parsons• Inspiring Women - Caroline Haslett• More Inspiring Women
WES’ HISTORYAgenda
• 51st President of the Women’s Engineering Society • Technical Manager at Selex ES• WES started in 1919 and is 95 years old• My inspiring women were Presidents of WES
WES’ HISTORYIntroduction
Rachel Parsons
Inspiring Women
WES’ HISTORY
William Parsons, Earl of Rosse(1800 – 1867)Astronomer
President of the Royal Society
Sir Charles Parsons (1854–1931)
EngineerDesigned Steam Turbine Engines
"William Parsons Earl of Rosse". Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Parsons_Earl_of_Rosse.jpg#mediaviewer/File:William_Parsons_Earl_of_Rosse.jpg"Mary, Countess of Rosse" by Unknown painter - Birr Castle Archives. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mary,_Countess_of_Rosse.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Mary,_Countess_of_Rosse.jpg"Charles Algernon Parsons". Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Algernon_Parsons.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Charles_Algernon_Parsons.jpg
Mary Countess of Rosse(1813 – 1885)Astronomer
Photographer
Inspiring Women
WES’ HISTORY
Sir Charles Parsons (1854–1931)
Designed Steam Turbine Engines
Rachel Parsons(1885–1956)
Engineer
"Charles Algernon Parsons". Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Algernon_Parsons.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Charles_Algernon_Parsons.jpghttp://parsonstown.info/people/katharine-parsonshttp://parsonstown.info/people/rachel-parsons
Katharine, Lady Parsons(1859–1933)
Leader of the Suffragettes in Northeast England
Inspiring Women
WES’ HISTORY
More information available from “The Genius of the Parsons Family” websitehttp://parsonstown.info/
Katharine, Lady Parsons• Leader of the Suffragettes in Northeast England • Pioneer of the Girl Guide movement• First female member of the North East Coast Institution of
Engineers and Shipbuilders• Encouraged Rachel to be an engineer
Extract from History Today by Henrietta HealdIn 1916 at an exhibition of women’s work Katharine Parsons stated “This exhibit proved conclusively that women were able to work on almost every known operation in engineering, from the most highly skilled precision work to the rougher sort of labouring jobs”
Inspiring Women
WES’ HISTORY
More information on Rachel Parsonshttp://blue-stocking.org.uk/2014/05/23/what-was-a-girl-to-do-rachel-parsons-1885-1956-engineer-and-feminist-campaigner/
Rachel Parsons• 1910 – 1st of 3 women to study Mechanical Sciences at
Cambridge University• Females barred from becoming full members of
Cambridge University, so she wasn’t awarded a degreeo 1948 before women were awarded degrees
• 1914 (start of WW1) – became director of her father’s company CA Parsons in Newcastle upon Tyne in the Northeast of England (now part of Siemens)o Made searchlight equipment to detect Zeppelins and airplaneso In charge of female employees
Inspiring Women
WES’ HISTORY
More information on Rachel Parsonshttp://blue-stocking.org.uk/2014/05/23/what-was-a-girl-to-do-rachel-parsons-1885-1956-engineer-and-feminist-campaigner/
• 1915 Rachel joined newly formed Ministry of Munitions to train women too Assemble aircraft partso Make telescopes, periscopes, shellso Install electrical wiring on battleships
• 800,000 women worked in engineering during WW1
• 1919 - Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act became law which banned women from working in engineering at the end of WWI
Inspiring Women
WES’ HISTORY
More information on Rachel Parsonshttp://blue-stocking.org.uk/2014/05/23/what-was-a-girl-to-do-rachel-parsons-1885-1956-engineer-and-feminist-campaigner/
In 1919 women• Over 30 could vote• Over 21 could stand for parliament• Could become doctors, vets, lawyers and civil servants• Could not become engineers• Could not become members of professional bodies• Could not publish technical papers
So Katharine and Rachel Parsons• Set up the Women’s Engineering Society• Set up Atalanta Ltd, an engineering firm that employed only women
Inspiring Women
WES’ HISTORY
More information on Rachel Parsonshttp://blue-stocking.org.uk/2014/05/23/what-was-a-girl-to-do-rachel-parsons-1885-1956-engineer-and-feminist-campaigner/
Rachel Parsons was• One of the richest women in Britain• Loved fast cars, fast boats and fast horses• Sailed across the Atlantic on a record breaking liner• Was elected to the London County Council• Stood for Parliament in 1923 (only 2 previous women MPs)• Campaigned for equal access, regardless of gender, to all
technical schools and colleges• Blazed a trail for women who wanted to go into non
traditional careers
Inspiring Women
Dame Caroline Haslett
WES’ HISTORYInspiring Women
WES’ HISTORY
Dame Caroline Haslett (1895 – 1957)• Father was an engineer in the railway• Worked as a clerk in an engineering
company which made boilers during WW1• Received basic training as an Electrical
Engineer and designed boilers• Became 1st secretary of WES in 1919 after
answering an advert• Founder and editor of WES’s journal
“The Women Engineer”• President of WES in 1941
Inspiring Women
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/0/ww1/28209325
WES’ HISTORYInspiring WomenThe Women Engineer Journal
WES’ HISTORY
Dame Caroline HaslettCampaigned to make life easier for women by getting them to use and, better still, design new, safe and easy to use electric appliances
Inspiring Women
"Electric dishwashing machine, 1917" by Keith's Magazine - Keith's magazine on home building. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Electric_dishwashing_machine,_1917.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Electric_dishwashing_machine,_1917.jpg"Vacuum cleaner 1910". Via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vacuum_cleaner_1910.JPG#mediaviewer/File:Vacuum_cleaner_1910.JPG
Electric Dishwasher 1917 Electric Vacuum Cleaner 1910
WES’ HISTORY
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/timeline/caroline_haslett.shtml
Dame Caroline Haslett • 1924 – Founded the Electrical Association for Women (EAW)• 1932 – 1st woman to become a member of the Institute of
Electrical Engineers (now the IET)• 1932 – Chair for the Home Safety Committee• 1933 – 1st female Vice President of the Royal Society for
the Prevention of Accidents• 1935 – Pioneered the “All-Electric House” in Bristol • 1945 – Appointed to the British Electricity Authority• 1953 – Chair of the British Electrical Development Association
Inspiring Women
WES’ HISTORY
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/timeline/caroline_haslett.shtml
Dame Caroline Haslett • Wrote several books
o The Electrical Handbook for Womeno Teach Yourself Household Electricityo Munitions Girl – A Handbook for the Women of the
Industrial Army o The Kitchen Practical
• Ran educational classes from “How to change fuses and wire plugs” to diploma courses
Inspiring Women
WES’ HISTORY
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/timeline/caroline_haslett.shtml
Dame Caroline Haslett • Lectured throughout Britain and gave radio talks• Worked for the British Government during WW2• Lived to see
o Electricity in almost every home o Television (1st broadcast by BBC in Britain in 1936)o Nuclear power stationso Jet planeso Computers
• Dying wish was to be cremated by electricity
Inspiring Women
WES’ HISTORY
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/timeline/caroline_haslett.shtml
Dame Caroline Haslett • Lectured throughout Britain and gave radio talks• Worked for the British Government during WW2• Lived to see
o Electricity in almost every home o Television (1st broadcast by BBC in Britain in 1936)o Nuclear power stationso Jet planeso Computers
• Dying wish was to be cremated by electricity
Inspiring Women
More Inspiring Women
WES’ HISTORYInspiring Women
Verena Holmes President 1931-1932• Held 12 patents for medical devices to engine components:
o Pneumo-thorax apparatus for treating patients with tuberculosis
o Surgeon's headlampo Poppet valve for steam locomotiveso Rotary valves for internal combustion engines.
• 1st female associated member of Institute of Mechanical Engineers took 20 years to become a full member
Amy Johnson CBE President 1935-1937• Dynamic record-breaking English aviator• 1st woman in the UK to be awarded the Air Ministry’s ground
engineer’s licence• 1st woman pilot to fly solo from England to Australia• Broke the record for flying from England to Moscow, Japan
and South Africa
Inspiring Women
Elizabeth Laverick OBE President 1968-1969• In 1943 did a BSc in Radio and Physics at Durham University then
a PhD in Physics (WW2 – women encouraged to do engineering)• Worked on Microwave Instruments and Radar research• Deputy Secretary of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (now IET)• Chaired Institute of Physics “Women in Physics” Committee• IEEE Fellow
Daphne Jackson OBE President 1984-1985• Nuclear physicist• 1st female physics professor in the UK• Youngest Fellow of the Institute of Physics and became a VP• Set up the Daphne Jackson Trust to help women re-enter
engineering after a career break – still running
"Daphne Jackson" by 21 September 1972 issue of New Scientist. Licensed under Fair use of copyrighted material in the context of Daphne Jackson via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Daphne_Jackson.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Daphne_Jackson.jpg
Inspiring Women
As the 51st President of WES, I feel indebted to the 50 amazing women who came before me
o Including the inspiring directors, trustees and membersBeyond their boundless enthusiasm and dedication, what links all of these women together is a refusal to accept the status quo
We need to promote the supportive network of inspiring female engineers, so that there are strong role models for current and future generations of female engineers to refer to
Too many generations of undiscovered engineers and scientists who never reached their potential have gone before us.
We need to make sure that this generation find their voice and their place within industry and history
Summary