In celebration of Engineers Week 2020, Irish Water]s Miriam Grant has spoke out on the difficulties of carving a career path in engineering and the benefits it presents young women across the country.

With an Engineers Ireland report last year highlighting that only 13% of engineering graduates in 2017/2018 in Ireland were women, Irish Water is using this week to celebrate female engineers and promote engineering as a career choice for girls.

Miriam, a Civil Engineering graduate from UCD in 2013, said: "Irish Water is committed to gender equality, which is why we want to inspire girls and young women to explore engineering career paths particularly within the Water sector.

"Subjects like technical drawing or even applied mathematics weren’t offered in my all-girls secondary school. This can leave you at a disadvantage going into college and put you off choosing engineering. I am glad that I persevered; the women I have met and worked with since beginning my career have been an inspiration and are some of the best engineers I have worked with. It is fantastic that here in Irish Water, we have women in prominent leadership positions, in fact 50% of our Senior Management Team is female."

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She continued: "As an engineer, you are involved in big projects and work programmes that have a positive societal benefit which is something I am very proud of. My work will deliver the National Plan which will under-pin every drinking water project investment to ensure every part of Ireland will have a sustainable supply, now and in the future. Having a national plan like this in place has a huge benefit for Ireland and the growth of our economy, and I love that I am part of it."

Miriam also advised girls leaving school who enjoy maths and science to consider an engineering future due to its practicality and flexibility.

Throughout Engineers Week, Irish Water is showcasing engineers, like Miriam, who are at various stages of their careers and who are working in different engineering roles within the sector. Irish Water is also promoting engineering as a career for girls through a programme of school visits, site tours and career talks during the week.

(CM/MH)