On International Women's Day (IWD) saw the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) officially opened applications for their annual Young Woman Engineer (YWE) of the Year Awards 2025, supported by Where Women Work. These prestigious awards help Accelerate Action for gender equality in engineering through celebrating the very best early-career women engineers working in the UK today.

These annual awards shine a spotlight on the next generation of women engineers, acknowledging their talent, innovation, and impact on the industry. 

If you or someone you know is making waves in engineering - whether through technological advancements, sustainability, or aerospace innovation - this is the chance to be celebrated.

Showcasing dynamic younger engineers

The IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards 2025 celebrates a dynamic young engineer who represents the very best of the profession. 

This engineer is passionate about making her mark and inspiring the next generation, showing them they too can engineer a better world. She's a high achiever, a problem solver and a team player. She should be an inspiration to her colleagues and, just as importantly, have the charisma and personality to inspire others to follow in her footsteps. 

Essential competencies include:

• Leadership experience - This could be leading a small team or group of individuals to achieve a goal through work, volunteering or at university.      
• Teamwork experience - Examples of being collaborative, encouraging people to work together and working with others to achieve successful outcomes.    
• Professional commitment - Evidence showing commitment to a medium-term project or role and a clear drive and ambition to continue developing and enhancing knowledge and skills.  

The award winner receives prize money of £2,500 and free IET membership for one year. The winner is invited to participate in high-profile events throughout the year, attended by influential people offering excellent networking opportunities and raising their profile within the engineering industry. 

Entrants must be aged between 18 - 35 years old and working in the UK. 

Enter the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards 2025.

Further awards celebrating women engineers

In addition to the Young Woman of the Year Award, the IET runs three further awards to celebrate women in engineering:

Mary George Memorial Prize for Apprentices is given to a young woman apprentice working in the UK, aged 18 to 35 who shows great promise and potential in the profession and is tipped to be one of tomorrow’s leaders in engineering. She has made a contribution within the workplace beyond the realms of her normal duties and demonstrated dynamism in her approach to the solution of engineering problems. A real team player, she will be seen as an 'all-rounder' who will act as an enthusiastic role model to encourage other young women to enter the profession of engineering through the apprenticeship route. The award winner receives prize money of £1,000 and free IET membership for one year.

Women's Engineering Society (WES) Prize is awarded to a young female engineer who is able to engage and inspire young people’s involvement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). She is also interested in the challenges women face in maintaining their career in engineering and wants to attract young people into engineering and may already have some experience of doing this. The award winner receives prize money of £1,000 and free IET membership for one year.

Gender Diversity Ambassador Award a person of any gender, working in the UK and of any age who has spent a large proportion of their career committed to addressing the gender imbalance within the engineering profession. The award celebrates a role model, but also showcase innovation and good practices when it comes to implementing tactics and policies to address the gender gap through attracting and retaining women in engineering. They should be an inspiration to their colleagues, and have made a significant contribution to the engineering gender diversity arena, and to the work of the IET in addressing the gender diversity gap.

History of the IET YWE award

Launched in 1978, it was originally known as the Girl Technician of the Year, but was changed to the Young Woman Engineer of the Year in 1988.

The YWE award was originally sponsored by the Caroline Haslett Memorial Trust, which provided scholarships and other educational opportunities for women seeking or already pursuing careers in electronic, electrical or mechanical engineering. Dame Caroline Haslett (1895-1957) was the first Secretary of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) out of which grew the Electrical Association for Women (EAW) and Dame Caroline was appointed its Director and Secretary. Through the Association she encouraged the use of power in the home believing that electricity was the real emancipator of women. The Trust was formed in 1945 to commemorate the 21st anniversary of EAW and after Dame Caroline’s death it became a memorial to her. The Trust funds are now exhausted, but the IET continues to support the Young Woman of the Year Award.

One of the world’s largest engineering institutions

This is truly an exciting time for women in engineering and technology, thanks to the IET - one of the world’s largest engineering institutions with over 155,000 members in 150 countries. The IET is also the most multidisciplinary institution, reflecting the increasingly diverse nature of engineering in the 21st century. 

The IET works to engineer a better world by inspiring, informing and influencing members, engineers and technicians - and wants female talent to thrive so provides a range of exciting opportunities for women to reach their full potential via awards, scholarships, events and more. The IET celebrates women's achievements - and it wants you to be part of it. It's a year of fantastic opportunities, so seize the visibility and recognition you deserve in engineering and technology fields and get involved with The IET's brilliant programme of activity each year.

Enter the prestigious IET awards

Impressive role models are the inspiration that young girls need and The IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year shows young girls they too have a place in the wonderful world of engineering. There are many dynamic young women engineers who represents the best in the industry - high achievers, problem solvers, team players.

And, in the meantime, let's reflect on last year's IET YWE Awards Ceremony via this fabulous video below.