Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day is a holiday that’s observed at the end of February during Engineering Week. This means that from year-to-year the date during which it’s observed changes. Even so, this is definitely a holiday that people are going to want to find on their calendars each year and make a note of it.

This is a day when educators, volunteers, and engineers show girls how engineering changes the world and encourages them to start their education in STEM so that they can become the engineers of the future.

Although engineering is one of the most important fields in the world, women are not equally represented. Only about 15.9% of all engineers in the U.S. are female in the U.S. Those numbers are slowly rising, but not as fast as they should be. Hopefully, this holiday can make a difference and encourage more girls to become engineers.

The History Of Introduce A Girl To Engineering Day

In 1919, the very first engineering society for women was formed in the UK. This organization was called the United Kingdom’s Women’s Engineering Society (WES) and it was created by Lady Katharine Parsons, Professor Daphne Jackson, Dame Caroline Haslett, and Amy Johnson.

This organization would set the wheels in motion for more people to think about considering women for engineering jobs. In 1934, the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) was formed in the United States.

This organization would end up creating Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day around the year 2008. That year they partnered with IBM to launch this holiday and encourage more young women to pursue a career in engineering. This holiday has been observed ever since.

Observing Introduce A Girl To Engineering Day

The first thing that everyone in a teaching, volunteer, or engineering position should do is to take time out of their busy schedule to introduce a young woman to engineering.

This can be done by engineers willing to take their daughters to work on this day, or if they’re in a teaching position, by arranging an entire day of lessons around these women in engineering. It’s also a good day to support organizations that promote women in STEM.

These organizations include the National Girls Collaborative Project, National Math and Science Initiative, Million Women Mentors, and the American Association of University Women. Everyone can also spread the word about this holiday using the hashtag #IntroduceAGirlToEngineeringDay on social media.