What is International Women in Engineering Day?
International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) is celebrated on the 23rd day of June to raise the profile of women in engineering and focus attention on the amazing career opportunities available to girls in this exciting industry. It celebrates the outstanding achievements of women engineers throughout the world.
International Women in Engineering Day began in the UK in 2014 as a national campaign from the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) to celebrate it’s 95th anniversary. Since then, INWED has grown enormously, receiving UNESCO patronage in 2016 and going truly global the following year.
The Importance of Women in Engineering Here at Pinchin
We are proud to celebrate the outstanding achievements of women engineers here at pinchin and throughout the world. Bridging the gap and recognizing women’s contributions at Pinchin is vital in promoting diversity and Innovation.
Celebrating some of the Women Engineers here at Pinchin
Foroogh (Flora) Beik
Geomatics Data Manager, Integrated Digital Services Group
Foroogh (Flora) Beik is Pinchin’s Geomatics Data Manager for the Integrated Digital Services Group. Flora holds both a Civil Engineering and a Geomatics Engineering degree from the University of Tehran and is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA).
Growing up with an Electrical Engineer as a father, Flora was introduced to the engineering world early in her childhood. Her father was a handy person and would often fix things around the house, including complex electrical devices and even the family car. Flora remembers when she first thought about the concept of engineering as a child while watching her father open a broken device and wondering how he would be able to remember how to put everything back together. Her father explained to her that engineers think logically and are naturally good problem solvers because of how they understand the world around them. When Flora had problems with her school work, her father would guide her thru the process of thinking creatively to solve the problem, rather than simply providing her with the answer. As Flora grew up, she enjoyed the challenge of problem-solving and understood that engineering would allow her to help others by solving their issues.
At Pinchin, Flora has been tasked with helping build and implement an Enterprise Platform that helps our clients manage and analyze their data in real time. She’s thrilled to be able to put her creative problem-solving skills and civil engineering knowledge to work to help her establish the core foundation of these platforms. She credits the civil engineering understanding that “without a stable foundation, a building will not be reliable nor last a long time” as the reason she has been able to succeed in her recent projects.
Flora encourages young engineers and those looking to become an engineer to learn the art of patience.
“Patience is an important soft skill for any successful engineer, as you need to be patient and a hard worker to be able to build your future on a foundation of excellence.”
For more information on Foroogh (Flora) Beik, visit her LinkedIn profile.
Women Engineers We’ve Previously Highlighted
Rachel Northey
Project Manager, Indoor Environmental Quality Group
Linda Drisdelle
General Manager, Emissions Reduction & Compliance Group
Silvana Wu
Senior Project Manager with the Hazardous Materials & Indoor Environmental Quality Groups
Lorena La Osa Gómez
Project Manager with the Environmental Due Diligence & Remediation Group
Working Towards Closing the Gap
Pinchin recognizes the need for talented and creative ability of all our people, to stay competitive and foster an environment that will allow women to thrive in a career in science.
If you are currently studying or are a professional within the field of science, or know someone that is, and would like to learn more about joining our team in a co-op opportunity or professionally at one of our 42 offices across Canada, visit our careers page.
