- Ford engineer Hannah Pearlman reached the finals of the annual Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award
- Award recognises the achievements of young women who have chosen a career in engineering and encourages others to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) studies
DUNTON, Essex, September 26, 2014 – Hannah Pearlman, lead Ford engineer for engine cooling systems, has been announced as a finalist in the annual Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards, which recognise the best and brightest young female engineers in the country.
The IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards highlights the achievements of inspiring young women across the country who have chosen a career in engineering and also encourage others to enter a similar profession.
Women currently represent just six per cent of the engineering workforce in the UK, the lowest percentage in Europe. If this trend continues, the UK will be in a significantly weakened position to find the 87,000 new engineers it is estimated the country will need each year over the next decade (according to Engineering UK 2014, the state of engineering report).
Hannah is now set to join just four other top young female engineers at a prestigious awards ceremony, hosted by BBC Breakfast presenter Stephanie McGovern on 10 December in central London, when the winner will be judged.
Hannah was selected as a finalist for the Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award for her contribution to global engineering projects at Ford, her technical achievements since graduating in 2010 and her ambassadorial role in schools. Inspired and motivated by professional engineers to pursue STEM activities when she was at school, Hannah is dedicated to encouraging more young people to engage in STEM subjects and in particular in automotive engineering.
“I am really proud to reached the last five in the country. I hope that by becoming a finalist I will be seen as a good role model for the engineering profession that shows girls can do it too!” said Hannah.
Barb Samardzich, Ford of Europe’s chief operating officer, said: “It’s a great achievement and I’m delighted for Hannah. Ford strongly supports the need for more young women to study STEM subjects and it’s important that role models, like Hannah, are recognised not only for their contributions to engineering but also for inspiring a future generation of engineers.”
IET Chief Executive, Nigel Fine, said: “We’ve been running our Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards for 38 years and have produced a number of fantastic ambassadors for engineering as a result. 2014 has seen growing momentum from Government, industry and educators to encourage more girls to study science, technology, mathematics and engineering subjects, so it seems timely and appropriate to make finding inspirational female role models who can support these efforts the key focus of our very successful Awards.”
