Women in Engineering Forum

The inaugural Imperial Women in Engineering Forum proved a success last Thursday as staff enjoyed presentations and discussions on a range of issues.

Dr Lesley Macdonald, a senior reservoir engineer at BP (currently Executive Assistant to the Vice President Safety and Operation Risk) and Professor Xiao Yun Xu from the Department of Chemical Engineering offered insight into juggling work-life balances in academic and corporate environments.

A subsequent Q&A session and workshop run by Dr. Liz Elvidge (Head of the Post Doc Development Centre) comparing ‘male’ and ‘female’ styles of communication allowed those attending to discuss these insights and compare them with their own experiences.

Support Network

The Forum, which will meet termly, provides a platform for female engineers at Imperial to network, share experiences and develop skills.

Created following a short survey conducted by Su Nandy (Senior HR Manager for the Faculty of Engineering) of all female academic and research staff in the Faculty, it will focus on how to build a successful career in academia through talks from role models and skills development workshops whilst also providing a venue where workplace issues can be discussed and addressed.

Experiences in Academia

Professor Xu described her career from studying for her undergraduate degree in China to her current role as professor in the department of Chemical Engineering.

She concluded her presentation by saying "Everyone has dreams and ambitions, but it is important to set realistic goals and work at your own pace." By "discussing needs and concerns with colleagues and ensuring not to over commit yourself”, a successful working environment can be achieved.

It is possible to have a successful academic career and have a happy family life, Professor Xu believes, but it is important to “work with your partner as a team”, and to “find a sense of compromise”, so that both family and work demands can be addressed.

Experiences in Industry

Despite working in a different engineering environment, Dr Macdonald’s experience echoed many of the Professor Xu’s insights.

She has worked for BP since completing her PhD and has subsequently travelled around the world with her job, including a period spent in Trinidad and working in teams developing oil fields in Azerbaijan and Angola.

What has always remained important to success though is to “be optimistic”, “build and work in high performing teams, have a sponsor that can act as an advocate for you, network as much as possible and try to work in a challenging role."

Problems such as loneliness, gender politics and not being taken seriously were discussed during the Q&A session, and the use of sponsors and mentors emerged as an important factor in dealing with these, as well as other issues common to men and women that arise in working life.

The workshop on ‘male’ and ‘female’ communication styles resulted in further debate, highlighting the differences between the succinct ‘male’ methods of communication and the more elaborate style (often with caveats) typical of women.

Future Events

The Forum will be holding termly lunchtime meetings. The next Forum will be held on 31 March and will discuss confidence building.

Following that Professor John Dupré (University of Exeter) will give a presentation on 10 June discussing the nature vs nurture debate in the light of recent work on genomics. This latter event will be open to both men and women.

For more information on the Forums or if you have any suggestions for future sessions, please contact Su Nandy at s.nandy@imperial.ac.uk