Celebrating its 9th year, 国际工程女性日是一项年度宣传活动，旨在提高工程女性的形象，并为希望在该行业追求未来的女性提供职业机会.
Research has found that companies are 15% more likely to have higher performance rates if they’re gender diverse. Despite this, 英国是欧洲女性工程专业人员比例最低的国家 - at less than 10%.
However, 在增加从小就学习STEM课程的女孩数量方面正在取得进展, 许多活动将年轻女性塑造为榜样，以鼓励更多元化的劳动力. The data suggests that this approach is making a difference, 英国工程公司(engineinguk)的一项新研究表明，女性现在占到了16%.5% of the engineering workforce, compared to 10.5% in 2010.
This year, to celebrate Women in Engineering Day, 我们与25岁的Sorsha Elson聊了聊她作为一级方程式机械工程师学徒的角色, 女性在这个行业的代表性，以及社会企业布莱尔计划如何支持她的职业抱负.
Get to know Sorsha Elson
What made you decide to take up a career in mechanical engineering?
I’ve always had an interest in engineering, but I think like many girls growing up, I pushed it to one side thinking I wouldn't be any good. It really became something I looked into when I was a flight attendant. 我一直很喜欢飞机，每天与飞行员和工程师交谈真的让我大开眼界.
How did you feel when you got your apprenticeship at Formula One?
I can’t really describe how I felt, 我认为直到三周后我去了南安普顿的培训协会，我才真正明白了这一点. I remember being in disbelief that I had managed to do it. 我觉得这是我多年来在职业选择上苦苦挣扎后得到的奖励.
What support did you get from The Blair Project to get your role? Did you face any challenges along the way?
从一开始，布莱尔项目就很有帮助，积极和支持. 我很高兴和他们一起开始了我的职业生涯，他们在塑造我的职业生涯中扮演了重要的角色.
I would definitely say the pace that we work at is challenging. 我们正设法把两年的资格证书学习压缩成一年，这样我们就可以马上上班了. 这是我几个月来的努力工作，但我真的不想改变.
What does your role look like day-to-day?
My average week starts in the workshop. 我们每4周轮换一次，所以目前我正在学习TIG焊接. 周二和周三是我们的理论课，为我们的资格考试做贡献，然后在本周剩下的时间里回到研讨会.
Did you have any role models growing up? If so, who and why?
I had loads of people I would say I idolised, for example Beyonce, 我知道她很老套，但她在音乐中表达自己的方式真的在我最需要的时候给了我很多信心. 她给予女性，尤其是有色人种女性的权力是非常非常重要的.
当然，我真的相信，没有刘易斯·汉密尔顿爵士，我就不会有今天的成就. What he has done in terms of not only breaking records, but also using his platform so dutifully, while being the only Black driver on the grid, is awe inspiring to me. 有时候，他在社交媒体上的话语和积极态度真的激励着我. What he has achieved in F1 is incredible, 他是我和我的家人最亲近的代表，这让它变得更加特别.
Why do you feel Women in Engineering Day is important?
Men have been at the forefront of research, 但女性可以带来不同的视角. 如果你想要精英中的精英，你需要尽可能多的最聪明的人，你不可能在一个群体中找到. You have to open up the talent pool.
Women drive the industry simply just by being there, 我们只需要得到机会和时间，以正确的方式加以利用. Not only that, 但想想这对年幼的孩子们的影响，他们认为女性出现在只属于男孩的领域. 如果女孩在很小的时候就能看到自己认同的人，并在其中看到自己, you will see more believing that they can achieve it too. 这个国家目前缺乏工程师，所以我们给每个人学习STEM学科的机会是至关重要的, and that means eradicating bias, stereotypes and exclusivity.
我们能做些什么来鼓励更多的女孩进入STEM职业，你对她们有什么建议?
I think it needs to be addressed at younger ages. If I had seen someone like myself at a young age, doing what I’m doing, I would have been more interested in STEM subjects. It’s all about representation. Girls need to see the bright, smart, 有才华的女性，无论体型大小，种族，因为事实证明，这能强化这种积极的信念体系.
我的建议是:永远不要让任何人告诉你你做不到. Work hard, learn all that you can, 专注于你自己，如果你不知道你想做什么，不要担心. It took me a long long time to figure this out, even when everyone else seemed to have it all figured out, but you will get there, always believe in yourself.
Based in the Tech Incubator within Circle Square, 他们希望通过电动卡丁车来激励和培养下一代高科技工程师，这是布莱尔项目的基础, 以数字制造和设计项目为基础的活动，以支持更多的年轻人成为实习生或学徒, as well as further/higher education.
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