Improving access and participation of women to engineering research

Research and innovation thrive on diversity, enhancing collective performance (UKRI, 2023). The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Diversity and Inclusion in STEM highlighted that the STEM workforce is less diverse than the broader workforce, leading to underrepresentation of minoritized groups such as Black people, women, disabled individuals, and those from the LGBTQ+ community (British Science Association, 2021). According to Engineering UK's Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) strategy, only 12% of the engineering workforce is female, compared to 51% of the working-age population (Engineering UK, 2019). At the University of Warwick, our data analysis revealed that females at the postgraduate research (PGR) level are underrepresented in engineering, though the gender balance is more equitable at the postgraduate taught (PGT) level. To address this disparity, we launched the "Improving Access and Participation in Engineering Research (IAPER)" project. This internship program targeted undergraduate and PGT female students to enhance their participation in engineering research, aiming to improve gender balance in PhD and postdoctoral populations. We offered research internships to 20 female students, who completed an 8-week program under the mentorship of leading academics (IAPER interns, 2023). Additionally, we hosted three events featuring successful women in industry and academia, who shared their experiences and success stories with the UG and PGT female students (IAPER Lecture Series, 2023). Student feedback was collected through video snippets and project reports, with a reflective section on their internship experiences. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with strong recommendations to continue such programs in the future (IAPER overview, 2023).