About
Retaining female engineers in the UK remains one of the most persistent barriers to achieving genuine gender diversity in the engineering sector.

While women make up roughly 16 per cent of the UK engineering workforce, studies consistently show that many leave the profession mid career, creating a leaky talent pipeline that undermines both organisational capability and national skills needs.

Held on International Women In Engineering Day (23rd June 2026 in partnership with Babcock International Group this panel session will explore why retention is such a critical issue, examine some of the factors that are driving attrition, and highlight some of the measures that can be taken to reverse this damaging trend: such as implementing flexible career pathways, structured returner programmes, inclusive leadership training, and data driven approaches to improving belonging and psychological safety.

Key discussion areas
• The root causes of mid career female attrition in engineering
• Which interventions have proven most effective in improving retention and progression?
• How can organisations build cultures where women not only enter engineering roles but thrive and stay?
When
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 · 10:00 a.m. London (GMT +1:00)
Presenters
B
Becca Gooch
Head of Research, Engineering UK
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Neil Young
Global Engineering Capability Director at Babcock
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Jenny Barry
Senior Systems Engineer at Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL).
Jennifer (Jenny) Barry is chartered Senior Systems Engineer at Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL). She is the technical lead for a UK Government Earth Observation mission, responsible for delivering a £40M satellite project. Her previous experience has been in both industry and Government, including working at the UK Space Agency within the Office of the Chief Engineer and at Lockheed Martin UK in projects spanning the defence, space, and R&D sector.

In her career, she has represented the UK internationally for topics relating to space sustainability, including as a delegate to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and contributing to ESA’s Zero Debris initiative, as well as delivering technical milestone reviews, and leading systems engineering efforts and analysis for a variety of missions.

In 2023, she was named one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering by WES for her work across safety, sustainability, and security, and last year she was named as the IET’s Young Women Engineer of the Year. In addition to her professional career, she has volunteered hundreds of hours to STEM outreach and supported various STEM and space initiatives to encourage women into the sector.
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Jon Excell
Editor, The Engineer
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