More women in industry: What is important now

Do you remember how many women studied mechanical engineering with you? For Chinloo Lama, it was either just herself or one other woman, depending on the class. She studied at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, one of the oldest technical universities in the USA. She is now the design director for the 3D Experience Solidworks user experience at Dassault Systèmes.

In the graduating class, there were six or seven engineers for every female engineer, she further reports.

Looking at Germany, it doesn't look much better. Although initiatives to promote women in STEM subjects are showing initial success at universities, female graduates are less likely to find their way into mechanical and plant engineering.

This is according to a recent study by the Impuls Foundation of the VDMA. According to the study, the proportion of female mechanical engineers is just over eleven percent, although the proportion of women graduating in core engineering subjects is around 21 percent.

Few women in the teams

Chinloo Lama has also had this experience. As a career starter, there were just as few women in her team as there were at university, she says. This only changed during her master's in computer graphic design. Here, the proportion of women and men was equal. In her current position at Dassault Systèmes, there are even more women than men working.

But: “As user experience designers, we work a lot with engineers. And no matter which company or industry I have spoken to, there were at most one or two female members in the team,” says Lama.

Christina Reuter has had similar experiences. She is now a professor at the Technical University of Munich and was previously with Airbus Defense and Space and served as a supervisory board member at Kion. “By now, I don't even notice anymore that I often sit in meetings where mainly men are sitting around me. That's almost normal. Unfortunately, one must say. It's even more noticeable to me when there are many women sitting there,” she said in 2021 in our podcast Industry Insights.

Tips: How to make mechanical engineering more attractive for female engineers

So how can more women be attracted to and retained in mechanical engineering? There is no one solution; according to the Impuls study, many small adjustments are crucial.

These include, among others:

Making the profession of engineer tangible: According to the study, many female students are often not clear about what an engineer actually does. Formats like Girls' Day or short internships are important but must be well designed to provide authentic insights.

Visible female role models - both before and during studies as well as in professional life.

• Offer internships: The people surveyed for the study said that internships and excursions increased their motivation and provided insights into possible career paths that may not have been considered before. Positive experiences during internships and other company contacts, in particular, led them to build a long-term connection with the company.
• The online presence can also determine whether a prospective female engineer applies to a company or not. According to the study, it is therefore important that the company website shows not only products but also employees. "Especially for female applicants, the threshold to apply is lowered if other women are already depicted on the website," the study says. Staged images and stock photos should be avoided.
• The compatibility of family and career is a decisive factor in whether female engineers remain loyal to the company or not. This includes childcare offerings, among other things.
• New work: "The flexibility of working hours and location is increasingly becoming a decisive factor in choosing a company," the study says. "Especially when the work allows it, there is little understanding for a presence culture or inflexible working hours."
• Also important: active promotion of women in technical and leadership careers.

VDMA and companies are committed

It is clear: promoting women in technical professions is a complex and long-term process that requires active design and rethinking in companies.

To support female engineers in their professional development, VDMA launched the funding project "MaSHEnenbau - Attract, Retain, and Develop Careers for Female Engineers" in May. This aims to sustainably increase the proportion of female engineers in mechanical engineering. Participating pilot companies are supported, among other things, in making their working and career conditions more attractive.

The companies themselves are also getting involved. For example, Ceratizit has taken several measures. The company wants to ensure, among other things, that women are "specifically invited" and "seen" in courses, training, and leadership programs, says Ahlbeck in the podcast.

Dassault Systèmes is also involved, including in connection with organizations like MassRobotics. Women are encouraged to design robots and engage in STEM activities.

And: Chinloo Lama definitely sees that there has already been a change since her study days. There is also more engagement on the topic.