Engineering touches almost every aspect of our contemporary lives. But for the greater part of human history, the industry has been dominated by one gender. Despite women arguably playing an outsized role in advancing the technology we take for granted today, female engineers have long operated in the minority.
Take Hedy Lamarr, perhaps better known for her work on the silver screen back in the 1930s and 1940s, who invented a remote-controlled communications system for the US military which assisted the Allies in winning World War II. Her invention is the foundation for the Bluetooth and Wifi technology we now use on a daily basis. There are countless other examples of pioneering women engineers who have struggled for visibility.
Today, efforts are well underway to correct the longstanding gender imbalance and get more female talent into the industry. Turkey is taking a leading role by developing innovative programmes aimed at educating and cultivating more young women engineers to become industry leaders. In Istanbul last week, I visited one such programme in action: computer science engineering
Founded by Ebru Ozdemir, chair of Limak Investments, a major Turkish conglomerate, the programme sponsored by Limak, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Turkish Ministry for Family, Work and Social Service provides scholarships and mentoring for young women studying to become engineers.
Take Hedy Lamarr, perhaps better known for her work on the silver screen back in the 1930s and 1940s, who invented a remote-controlled communications system for the US military which assisted the Allies in winning World War II. Her invention is the foundation for the Bluetooth and Wifi technology we now use on a daily basis. There are countless other examples of pioneering women engineers who have struggled for visibility.
Today, efforts are well underway to correct the longstanding gender imbalance and get more female talent into the industry. Turkey is taking a leading role by developing innovative programmes aimed at educating and cultivating more young women engineers to become industry leaders. In Istanbul last week, I visited one such programme in action: computer science engineering
Founded by Ebru Ozdemir, chair of Limak Investments, a major Turkish conglomerate, the programme sponsored by Limak, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Turkish Ministry for Family, Work and Social Service provides scholarships and mentoring for young women studying to become engineers.
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