News and Events

Director named in Top 50 Women in Engineering list

Get in touch
Charlotte S Charlotte Fernández UKIMEA Press Office,Leeds
23 June 2016

Dervilla Mitchell, Arup Group and UKMEA Region Board member, has been recognised as one of the UK’s most influential female engineers.

This inaugural list has been compiled by the Daily Telegraph in conjunction with Women’s Engineering Society (WES) in celebration of National Women in Engineering Day.

In the UK, only 7 per cent of engineering professionals are women and the proportion is even lower for engineering apprentices so this list recognises women currently in the profession and aims to inspire a new generation of women into engineering.

At Arup, Dervilla leads the Aviation business in UKMEA region and has successfully delivered several technically challenging major projects during her career including Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 and the Athletes’ Village in Stratford, London. She has helped establish Arup’s women’s network ConnectWomen and was a founding member of Arup’s Diversity Steering Group, championing Arup’s Inclusive Leadership Programme.

In 2014, Dervilla was appointed by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, to the Council for Science and Technology (CST) and was awarded an honorary CBE for Services to Engineering. She is now the chair of the Diversity & Inclusion committee for the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) and is a member of the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) Public Voice Committee. Dervilla is also a board member of the British Aviation Group.

Dervilla was selected from over 850 nominees by an expert judging panel of industry professionals and chairman’s across engineering fields and corporations.

“

I am honoured to be included in this list, amongst some of today’s leading female industry professionals. I think it is extremely important to highlight the role of women and encourage more females into the profession. I have long been involved in championing diversity at Arup and we have made some great steps in increasing the number of women both in leadership and across the organisation. ” Dervilla Mitchell Dervilla Mitchell Deputy Chair

“

This list of amazing role models is a great way of raising the profile of our talented women engineers and making them more visible both within the industry and to the next generation. ” Dawn Bonfield CEO of the Women’s Engineering Society and founder of National Women in Engineering Day

Elsewhere at Arup, a young female engineer has been recognised for her outstanding contribution to the industry. Lucy Gardner, a Senior Engineer, has been featured in Women in Rail’s Top 20 Most Inspirational Women in Rail.

Arup has always prided itself on its diversity and inclusion programme, and in 2016 it was named as one of The Times Top 50 Employers for Women for the sixth consective year.