PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
International women day in engineering (23 June 2020)

That this House welcomes International Women Day in Engineering, which fell on 23 June 2020 to raise the profile of women engineers and encourage more people to consider engineering as a profession for all; recognises the work of Syeda Ghufran, the first female Engineering Director at ScotRail, out of nearly 200 colleagues at Haymarket depot in 2010; appreciates that Syeda Ghufran is committed to promoting gender diversity and equality through her role; notes that she has worked with local schools to promote engineering as a career choice for young people; further notes that ScotRail's recent intake of Engineering Apprentices are 50 per cent female; understands that women remain vastly underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sectors, with only 12 per cent of engineering professionals in the UK being female; believes that there are many positive actions that can be taken, including outreach, placements and training to target women and girls; and calls for greater promotion of women and girls to join STEM industries.

Sponsored by:
Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat)