Our pledge announced today, 7 May, aims to support a change in how women and girls are encouraged to consider technology and engineering careers and the subject choices or vocational pathways that lead to them, by pledging commitment to take action in some or all of the following areas:

• Engaging with young people
• Contributing to a national campaign
• Increasing the numbers of women in these fields within their own organisations

We will be contributing to the national aspirations to double the number of women studying engineering and technology degrees at undergraduate level by 2030; boost the number of women pursuing careers in engineering and technology; and increase the number of young people studying maths and physics at 18.

Pledge: WMG will:

Student

• Ensure that female students and staff are appropriately represented at all open days (6 per year) and promotional events to showcase to prospective students that female support and role models are available in WMG.
• Include a focus on positive female role models in recruitment materials. Evaluating by using the application system to record the increased interest from females in the courses and the increased female intake.
• Treat sympathetically requests from female students to schedule co-grouping for safe evening travel home. Requests are dealt with on a one by one basis with positive student feedback being received via the Student and Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC) and student survey.
• Elect a student representative on the SSLC specifically responsible for female issues.

Staff

• Review individual staff training needs annually to ensure high levels of female participation, actively discussing removing barriers.
• Provide a departmental a career development framework to supplement existing university resources with a focus on female staff. Continue to run promotions sessions annually, with one session specifically for females only.
• Create bespoke provision as is required especially for female staff where career planning issues maybe more challenging due to career break and caring duties.
• Disseminate sources of support to ensure fair access to external CPD activities.
• Female representation on all interview panels and to have staff involved in recruitment and selection trained in equality and diversity.

Outreach

• Encourage and participate in activities that aim to engage children from low representation groups in higher education, and in specific subjects. Including an Inspire Course for year 11 female students (June 2014) and RI Masterclasses aimed at year 9 students, with schools being asked to nominate a male and female student.
• Ensure WMG is fairly represented by male and female staff and students in outreach activities to encourage female staff and students to join both WMG and Higher Education/Engineering as a whole. Reviewing an annual time allowance for staff time to be spent on outreach.

Communications

• To attract more women to work and study specifically in WMG and also in Engineering more generally, by ensuring appropriate profiles are available on WMG’s website.
• To increase in scope a number of departmental briefing seminars to showcase female staff and student activities.

For more information on the initiative visit www.yourlife.org.uk.