Ada Lovelace Day: Supporting Women in Manufacturing
To mark Ada Lovelace Day, Richard encouraged our Business Development Director, Sophie Hall, to attend the breakfast reception at Westminster Palace on 14th October. The annual event shines a light on the underrepresentation of women in STEM careers, including engineering and manufacturing.
Despite the early start, Sophie’s journey went smoothly and she arrived at 7:30am to find a growing group of women gathering. After confirming she was in the right place, she soon struck up conversations, first with Esther Cornell, MD of a subcontract engineering firm and a familiar name to Richard, and then with Kirsty Davies-Chinnock, MD of Professional Polishing Services Ltd.
Sophie said, “My initial nervousness about attending such a significant event alone quickly dissipated as I found myself in great company.”
The event included inspiring speakers who shared their experiences and discussed the Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Plan, which supports the 35% by 35 initiative. This aims to increase the proportion of women working in manufacturing to 35% by 2035.
At Warren, 19.3% of our current workforce are women. Reflecting on this, Sophie spoke about her own journey into engineering:
“I recalled being the only female apprentice in my college class. Speaking with Estee, it seems the numbers have not changed significantly, even today. While the solution to this issue remains unclear, it’s encouraging to see so many dedicated and intelligent individuals working to inspire young women and girls to consider careers in engineering and manufacturing. Warren is certainly striving to be the change we want to see. I remain hopeful for the next generation of women in these fields thanks to the promising young women Warren already employs.”
Sophie returned energised by the discussions taking place across the sector and encouraged by the collective drive to open more opportunities for young women. At Warren, we will continue to champion a more inclusive future in engineering, one where women are better represented and fully supported to thrive.
