International Women in Engineering Day
International Women in Engineering Day (INWED)
đź“… 23 JuNE 2026Â
Every year on 23 June, International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) celebrates the outstanding achievements of women engineers around the world and shines a spotlight on the opportunities engineering creates for future generations. Brought to you by the Women’s Engineering Society, INWED is a global movement that champions diversity, innovation, and inclusion across the engineering sector. Under the 2026 theme, Engineering Intelligence, we are bringing together organisations, educators, industry leaders, and communities to showcase the expertise, creativity, and leadership women bring to engineering every day.
Background
International Women in Engineering Day began in the UK in 2014 as a national campaign from the Women’s Engineering Society. Since then, INWED has grown enormously, receiving UNESCO patronage in 2016 and going truly global the following year.
National Women in Engineering Day (a UK initiative) was founded on 23 June 2014 by Dawn Bonfield MBE during her time as President of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) to celebrate its 95th anniversary. In 2017, National Women in Engineering Day became international for the first time due to the interest and enthusiasm developed by the international audience and participants in the previous years. International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) was born to enable the celebration of women in engineering to become global.
The Women’s Engineering Society (WES) is an charity, founded in 1919 at the end of the First World War, when women who had been employed in technical fields found it difficult, if not impossible, to continue working as engineers. A change in the law to return women engineers to the home just as their sisters were admitted into the civil service and legal professions, led to the establishment of WES by pioneering and influential women. WES has worked tirelessly for over a hundred years to ensure equality for women in engineering. Today WES’ mission is to support women in engineering to fulfil their potential and support the engineering industry to be inclusive.
- Women:Â Support women to achieve their potential as engineers, applied scientists and leaders and to reward excellence.
- Education:Â Encourage and promote the education, study and application of engineering.
- Sustainability: Work with organisations and influencers to promote gender diversity and equality in the workplace and sustain the historic legacy and future effectiveness of the Women’s Engineering Society.​