Kirsten Bodley

"Within this climate, a group of women founded the Women’s Engineering Society. Not only to resist this pressure, but also to promote engineering as a rewarding job for women as well as men"

"The home used to be very labour intensive. After all, with the advent of electricity the work load was eased and women began to search for employment."

"There are exciting opportunities for everyone, regardless of their background. Although there are still a lot of barriers to women entering the industries"

"There are more opportunities now. Flexible working is now much more widely available. It’s key that women who return to work can come back at the same level and have support of initiatives like mentoring"

"We need to see senior leaders not just simply saying the right things. They must be embedding them within the practices of their organisations,” says Bodley. “Culture change can take years, but is so important"

"Research shows that when you reach a representation of 30%, a group stops feeling like a minority,” say Bodley. “It’s ambitious, but not unrealistic."

"we need to introduce young women to female role models working in STEM, enabling them to see the vast range of opportunities for brilliant careers open to them. That’s the most effective way to dispel persistent stereotypes which still inhibit them."