Transcript No Slide Title

THE WOMEN’S ENGINEERING SOCIETY
A Little Bit of History
Dorothy Hatfield
WES Conference 2005
7-Sep-05
WES History
7-Sep-05
WES History
In the Beginning
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Scene:
The end of the war to end all wars
– Very real issues concerning the continuing employment of women
engineers who had made a huge contribution to the war effort.
– Opposition from government, industry, unions
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Cast: Some remarkable women:
• Lady Katherine Parsons - wife of Sir Charles Parsons and a
keen amateur
• Rachel M Parsons - their daughter, a qualified engineer
• Margaret Lady Moir - Women Engineering Relief Workers
• Verena Holmes - propeller gluer became centre lathe turner
• Margaret Partridge - electrical engineer who owned and ran a
power station
Catalyst: National Union of Women Workers > National Council of
Women
Outcome:
The Women’s Engineering Society (WES) - 1919
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WES History
The Early Days
• The Aim:
• To promote the study and practice of engineering among
women; and, secondly to enable technical women to meet and
to facilitate the exchange of ideas respecting the interests,
training and employment of technical women and the
publication and communication of information on such subjects.
• Enter Caroline Haslett - “organising secretary”
• Early Activities
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Branches - 6 formed by 1920
Conference - first Annual Conference 1923 (Birmingham)
The Woman Engineer - first issue December 1919
International - early contacts
WES History
20 Years of Peace 1920-1940
• Swing away from semi-skilled and skilled trades towards professional
engineering.
• Discord between Lady Parsons and Caroline Haslett
• By 1922 most of the institutions admitted women
• Education and training progress slow
• 1924 - formation of the Electrical association for Women to promote
the use of electricity in the home
• 1925 - International Conference London
• Depression of the early 30s brings major difficulties:
– high unemployment discourages female employment, particularly
married women
– branches disappear
• Aviation becomes new opportunity area for women engineers
– Amy Johnson joins WES, President 1935-1937
– Aeronautical section of WES leads in 1957 to the British Women Pilots
Association
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WES History
War Again
• Women again needed in the workplace.
• More recognition of their ability to make contributions at
all levels.
• Caroline Haslett advisor to Ministry of Labour
• Membership soared to nearly 300
• Branches revived
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WES History
More Remarkable Women
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Dame Caroline Haslett
Amy Johnson CBE
Marjorie Bell
Isabel Hardwich
WES History
…and Peace Again 1946-1969
• Marriage bar re-introduced
• WES participates in the annual
Engineering Exhibition at Olympia
• Expansion of International links
– ICWES1 1964 (New York)
– ICWES2 1967 Cambridge
• 1969
– 50th birthday!
– Women in Engineering Year
– First Verena Holmes Lecture
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WES History
Lean Years and Resurgence 1970-1988
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WES struggles to keep going financially
First Company Members
First Student Groups
1984 - WISE Year
Membership up to 800
1985 - Daphne Jackson Returners
Fellowships - pilot scheme
• WES becomes a Charity
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WES History
The 90s
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ICWES9 at Warwick University
Branches in decline
Circles as alternative
More Student Groups
WES History
Homes and Secretaries
(not necessarily complete)
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46 Dover Street
26 George Street
Regent Street
25 Foubert’s Place
Imperial College
c/o SEMTA - Dartmouth
Street, Old Queen Street
• c/o IEE Stevenage
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WES History
Caroline Haslett
Thelma Davies
Anneliese Souteriou
Gwen Maxwell
Catherine MacGillivray
Daughters of WES
• The Electrical Association for Women
• The British Women Pilots’ Association
• The Daphne Jackson Trust
• …and now MentorSET
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WES History
….and More Remarkable Women
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Cicely Thompson MBE
Rose Winslade OBE - Asst Sec CEI
Peggy Hodges OBE
Gwen (Bunty) Howard
Betty Laverick OBE - Asst Sec IEE
May Maple
Daphne Jackson OBE
WES History
A Changing World
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Very real and widespread
barriers to the education and
employment of women
engineers
Need to help women who
already were or wanted to be
engineers
Issues not recognised by
government and establishment
bodies
Body of well-off and influential
women, often the wives of
engineers, to lead the initiative
London was the centre of
communication
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WES History
Discrimination subtle and covert
Women isolated in their
workplace want networking
opportunities
Issues identified and well known
if not always tackled
Need to encourage women (and
men) to take up and continue in
engineering
Some government support eg
UKRC
Volunteers have jobs and
families to consider
Electronic communications etc
enable remote working
The Changing WES
• We should continually review our aims and
strategies.
• We should not be afraid to consider radical change.
• We should recognise that it may not be appropriate
for WES to live for ever.
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WES History