Lets Talk Women in Engineering
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the most iconic bridges in the world. The bridge features in everyday culture from pictures in peoples living rooms to adverts and films. The 486-metres long New York icon opened in 1883, linking Brooklyn to Manhattan. Seen as a true structural masterpiece when first built, being the first roadway connecting the two cities. However, one sizeable inspirational piece of history that goes a miss when people talk about the Brooklyn Bridge is that it was project managed by a woman!
A woman named Emily Warren Roebling oversaw the development of the bridge. She was never officially labelled as the ‘Chief Engineer’ as that was her husband, Washington Augustus Roebling, due to the period of history. However, Emily took on the role when her husband’s father died, leaving her husband bedridden. She acted as the mediator between her husband and the construction site at the bridge. Still, as Emily also had a vast knowledge of construction and materials and methods, it meant she assumed the role of ‘Chief Engineer’, ensuring completion of one of the most remarkable architectural feats of the 19th Century.
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Our Women in Engineering
Only recently has Emily Warren Roebling overlooked role started to be recognised by the world, with recent features in the New York Times and other publications. After hearing this story, it made us think about the female engineers we have working for us, and how much they offer our company. We touched base with a couple of our engineers at Protec Camerfield Ltd (a Protec Group brand) and spoke to them about their time with us and how their day to day working life is in engineering. First, we have Adriarna-Lei, currently training to be a design engineer in our fire suppression team.
Name: Adriarna-Lei
Role: 3D Design Engineer
What was your job before working for the Protec Group?
Why did you want to become an engineer?
What do you enjoy about your role at Protec?
What aspirations do you have within the engineering industry?
Next, we have Rachel, a project manager overlooking the installations of the fire suppression systems.
Name: Rachel
Role: Project Manager
How long have you worked for the Protec Group?
What was your job before working for the Protec Group?
Why did you want to become an engineer?
What do you enjoy about your role at Protec?
Is there anything you find beneficial about being a woman in what is seen to be a male-dominated industry?
What aspirations do you have within the engineering industry?
As an equal opportunities employer, we celebrate our staff regardless of gender, race, or other defining factors. We want to encourage anyone to come and be our next Emily Warren Roebling or Steve Jobs. We are always looking for new talent to join the team; we encourage you to head over to our company vacancies page and see if any roles fit you.
