Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering


In 2016 the Women's Engineering Society, in collaboration with the Daily Telegraph, produced an inaugural list of the United Kingdom's Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering, which was published on National Women in Engineering Day on 23 June 2016. The event was so successful it became an annual celebration. The list was instigated by Dawn Bonfield MBE, then Chief Executive of the Women's Engineering Society. In 2019, WES ended its collaboration with the Daily Telegraph and started a new collaboration with The Guardian newspaper.

2016

The judging panel was chaired by Dawn Bonfield MBE, and included Leon Krill from the Daily Telegraph, Allan Cook CBE, Chairman of Atkins, Professor John Perkins, author of the Engineering Skills Survey from the University of Manchester, Fiona Tatton, editor of Womanthology and Michelle Richmond, Director of Membership and Professional Development at the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
The judging panel included Dr Pete Thompson, CEO, NPL, Gillian Arnold, Director, Tectre, Clare Lavelle, Associate Director, Arup, John McCollum, Head of Engineering, BAE, Benita Mehra, WES President, Kirsten Bodley, WES CEO, Isobel Pollock-Hulf, WES Patron.
The event was held at the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2019 and the Women's Engineering Society moved to collaborate with the Guardian newspaper, who published a supplement containing details of the winners on the 24 June 2019 to celebrate International Women in Engineering Day 2020. The date also marked 100 years since the formation of the Society. The judging panel consisted of Head Judge Dawn Fitt, Bedford College, Dawn Childs, President, Women's Engineering Society, Julie Dakin, Mott Macdonald, Elizabeth Donnelly, CEO, Women's Engineering Society, John McCollum, BAE Systems, Alex Walker, Ford, and Will Whittow, the WES Men As Allies winner 2017, and senior lecturer at Loughborough Unviersity.
In 2020 the Women's Engineering Society moved away from what women engineers are to what women engineers do and called for nominations for the Top 50 Women in Sustainability. The winners will be announced during a live webinar on the 23 June 2020 to celebrate International Women in Engineering Day. The judging panel consisted of Head Judge Sally Sudworth, Environment Agency, Ann-Christin Andersen, Rotork Board Member, Richard Coackley, Past President & Sustainability Leader, Institution of Civil Engineers, Andrew Conway, Director of Engineering, BAI Communications, Elizabeth Donnelly, CEO, Women's Engineering Society, Louise Kingham, CEO Institute of Energy, Davide Stronati, Global Sustainability Leader, Mott Macdonald, and Joanna Wood, Group Engineering Director, BAE Systems.