Business, Innovation and Skills CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Charlotte Dunford

The UKRC has informed me of your request for evidence regarding gender equality in the workplace. The only evidence I can give is the anecdotal evidence of my own experience. I hope this short note being submitted without the requested formatting is not an issue.

I am female and an engineer. Starting in the final years of secondary school and continuing until now my education and work life has been dominated by men. It feels normal to me now to be the only woman in a team, I get excited when I get a chance to work with another female! I have always felt like I was treated as an equal by my male colleagues and they have been open about the need to encourage more women to enter the profession. I am not far along enough in my career to have any experience yet of the glass ceiling people talk about.

In my experience the barrier to women being in the technical professions is that many women do not choose my career not that they are barred from it or are not felt welcome by others once they have chosen it. I do not know why that is, maybe being an engineer really is more of a male-thing. I can tell you why I chose it as a career.

My father is an engineer. I played with engineering and scientific toys as a child. I was encouraged to take technical and science subjects at school. It was my academic success in maths and science subjects and my love of machine shop that made me decide to be an engineer. I was the only girl in my machine shop class and one of only a handful of girls in my advanced science and maths classes. How can women fall in love with these professions or realise they are capable of them if they never try them?

I think more focus should be given to the gender stereotyping of technical toys, which I know in the case of lego has got worse over the years, and encouraging more girls to give male dominated skills a try at school.

I hope this account of my experience helps you in your work.

8 November 2012