Our History: Over 100 Years of Women in Engineering

For more than a century, the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) has been at the forefront of supporting, inspiring, and celebrating women engineers. 

1919: A Society is Born 

WES was founded on 23 June 1919, in the aftermath of the First World War. During the war, women had stepped into engineering and technical roles to support the war effort. But as peace returned, many faced pressure to give up their jobs for the men returning from the front. 

Determined not to lose these hard-won opportunities, a group of pioneering women — led by Katharine, Lady Parsons, founded WES. Their mission was clear: 

“To promote the education, training and employment of women in engineering and allied sciences.” 

These women were not only fighting for jobs, but for recognition — that engineering was a profession for women as well as men. 

A Voice for Women Engineers 

In its first year, WES launched The Woman Engineer, a journal that continues to this day as a record of women’s contributions to science, technology, and engineering. 
The first WES Annual Conference followed in 1923 — an unbroken tradition, only paused twice during the Second World War. 

📸 Image: WES members visiting the Wolf Safety Lamp Company, Sheffield, 1936. Amy Johnson (then Amy Mollison) is pictured centre front between Monica and William Maurice. 

WES Archives

We have a vast amount of archived material held at the IET Savoy Place Archive in London. A list of what is available in the archive can be found HERE. The online catalogue can be found HERE and to see descriptions of the WES collection, simply type UK0108 NAEST 092 into the search field.