Leonardo engineer starts AeroWomen21 network for women in aerospace

Author: EIS Release Date: Jul 12, 2021

When a female engineer working at aerospace company Leonardo couldn’t find a dynamic network to propel her professional career forward, she decided to start one herself.

 

Leonardo engineer starts AeroWomen21 network for women in aerospace

 

AeroWomen21 has been formed by Olivia Gribler, who works at Leonardo’s Yeovil site at Lysander Road. And it has just held its inaugural event attracting students and some of the leading lights of aerospace across the UK. It was supported by the Royal Aeronautical Society, as well as the company itself.

 

The virtual gathering included Angela Owen OBE, founder of Women in Defence, Anna Keeling, Managing Director of Boeing Defence UK, Grazia Vittadini, Chief Technology Officer at Airbus, Dr Cristina Garcia Duffy, Head of Technology at the Aerospace Technology institute and Paula Clarke, Engineering & Projects Director at Leonardo (UK).

 

They participated in discussions, workshops and presentations and also hosted a panel discussion on women’s professional experiences in the aerospace industry.

 

The workshops focused around networking, building skills to create elevator pitches, which they practiced delivering to each other and exploring the best ways to present themselves professionally online, whether they were a student or a woman in industry.

 

“The speakers were really honest and real about their experiences and gave practical advice on how to develop your knowledge of yourself, so you can go on create a career you can be proud of,” said Gribler.

 

“They also encouraged participants not to second-guess themselves. Many women won’t apply for a job, or follow a particular path, if they think they don’t satisfy every requirement. These women were there to tell you to put yourself forward, despite any doubts you might have, as the outcome may be beyond what they could have hoped for.”