23 June 2026
Today, Alexander Associates proudly joins organisations around the world in celebrating International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) 2026, a global campaign led by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) that recognises the achievements of women engineers and inspires future generations to pursue careers in engineering, technology, and STEM.
This year’s theme, #EngineeringIntelligence, highlights the expertise, innovation, leadership, and creativity that women bring to engineering. From artificial intelligence and data analytics to renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, and digital infrastructure, women are helping to develop the technologies and solutions that are shaping our future.
INWED is more than a celebration of achievement. It is an opportunity to recognise the vital role women play across the engineering profession while continuing the conversation around attracting, developing, and retaining diverse talent throughout the sector.
Progress worth celebrating
Engineering remains one of the world’s most influential and rewarding professions, responsible for designing, building, and maintaining the systems, technologies, and infrastructure that underpin modern life.
While there is still work to be done to achieve greater gender balance across the profession, the progress made over the past decade is significant and deserves recognition.
Today, women represent approximately 16.9% of the UK’s engineering and technology workforce, compared to just over 10% in 2010. This growth reflects thousands more women entering engineering careers and making valuable contributions across a wide range of industries and disciplines.
Representation increased steadily throughout the 2010s, reaching approximately 16.5% in 2021 and demonstrating the impact of industry-wide efforts to encourage more women into STEM pathways. While the pace of change has not always been linear, recent figures indicate that women’s representation has recovered and stabilised, highlighting both the resilience of long-term initiatives and the growing appeal of engineering as an accessible and rewarding career for women.
This progress has been driven by a combination of factors. Increased investment in STEM education, outreach programmes, apprenticeships, mentoring schemes, and industry campaigns has helped challenge outdated perceptions of engineering and showcase the breadth of opportunities available within the profession. At the same time, employers have placed greater emphasis on creating inclusive workplaces that support career development, flexible working, and leadership opportunities.
Perhaps most importantly, there are now more visible role models than ever before. Women are leading major infrastructure projects, pioneering technological innovation, advancing sustainability initiatives, and shaping industries that are critical to the global economy. Their success is inspiring future generations and demonstrating that engineering is a profession where talent, ambition, and innovation can thrive regardless of gender.
While 16.9% representation clearly demonstrates that further advances are needed, it is equally important to recognise how far the profession has come.
The engineering industry is strengthened by the inclusion of women, whose diverse perspectives, experiences, and ideas foster innovation, enhance decision-making, and contribute to better outcomes across the sector. As engineering continues to evolve through digital transformation, artificial intelligence and automation, diverse talent will be essential to solving the challenges of tomorrow.
Our commitment to a more diverse engineering workforce
At Alexander Associates, we recognise that increasing diversity within engineering requires sustained commitment from employers, educators, industry bodies, and recruitment partners alike.
As a specialist engineering recruitment partner, we are committed to supporting initiatives that broaden access to engineering careers and strengthen representation across the profession.
Working with organisations across the UK and internationally, we see first-hand the value diverse teams bring to engineering businesses. Different perspectives and experiences contribute to stronger decision-making, greater innovation, and more effective solutions to complex technical challenges.
Our own recruitment activity reflects this commitment. In 2025, 33% of engineering professionals placed by Alexander Associates were women, exceeding the current proportion of women represented across the UK engineering and technology workforce. While there remains considerable progress to be made across the wider sector, this demonstrates the positive outcomes that can be achieved when organisations actively engage with diverse talent pools and adopt inclusive hiring practices.
For more than three decades, we have partnered with clients across a broad range of engineering sectors, helping them attract, develop, and retain highly skilled professionals. Beyond recruitment, we provide market intelligence and strategic talent advisory services that help organisations strengthen their hiring strategies, enhance employee value propositions, and create environments where people can build long-term, successful careers.
Empowering change through #ShesAnEngineer
Our #ShesAnEngineer campaign closely reflects this year’s #EngineeringIntelligence theme by highlighting the contributions of women who are advancing innovation across the engineering sector and encouraging the next generation of engineers to follow in their footsteps.
Showcasing role models
We shine a spotlight on women working across a diverse range of engineering disciplines – from structural design and transportation to space and water. By sharing their stories, we aim to raise the visibility of engineering careers, challenge perceptions, and inspire future generations to pursue opportunities within the sector. Follow our podcast here.
Building community
Through webinars, mentoring initiatives, networking opportunities, and social media engagement, #ShesAnEngineer helps create a supportive community where women engineers can connect, share experiences, and expand their professional networks.
Driving inclusion
We actively advocate for workplace flexibility, return-to-work programmes, career development opportunities, and sponsorship initiatives that support women throughout every stage of their careers. These efforts are critical to retaining experienced talent and creating more inclusive workplaces.
Inspiring future engineers
By engaging with schools, supporting STEM outreach programmes, promoting scholarships, and facilitating hands-on learning experiences, we aim to encourage more girls and young women to explore engineering pathways and consider careers within the profession.
Talent advisory and workforce strategy
We partner with clients to strengthen recruitment strategies, enhance training and development programmes, and review compensation and benefits packages to better attract, support, and retain women in engineering. By helping organisations build more inclusive workplaces, we contribute to creating stronger and more diverse engineering teams.
We are also proud to support organisations such as the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) and SheCanEngineer, whose work continues to inspire, empower, and champion women across the engineering profession.
Celebrating #EngineeringIntelligence
On International Women in Engineering Day 2026, we celebrate the achievements of women engineers everywhere and recognise the expertise, creativity, and leadership they bring to our industry every day.
Progress is being made, but the journey continues. By working together to attract, support, and develop diverse talent, we can build a stronger engineering profession that is equipped to tackle the challenges of the future.
Happy International Women in Engineering Day 2026.
Together, we engineer a better future.
Creating a more diverse and inclusive engineering workforce starts with a clear strategy.
If you’re looking to embed ED&I into your workforce planning and talent strategy, get in touch to explore how we can support your organisation in attracting, developing and retaining engineering talent.