Today, on the occasion of International Women’s Day in Engineering, Cuba honors all those women who stand out in this field.
Since 2014, every June 23, this date has been celebrated to promote the participation of women and recognize the challenges they face.
The anniversary aims to raise international awareness about the value of engineering as an important professional opportunity for new generations.
It also draws attention to the need to narrow gender gaps and promote inclusion and diversity in these disciplines.
This 2024 the celebration revolves around the slogan “improved by engineering” to emphasize the work of women in terms of development, the well-being of people and the construction of the future.
International Women in Engineering Day was created in 2014 by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) in the United Kingdom, on the occasion of its 95th anniversary.
This professional academic society, created in 1919 after the end of the First World War, was the first to bring together women who performed engineering jobs to replace the men who participated in the war.
Later, in 2016, the date was sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
The day acquired an international character starting in 2017.
Among the women engineers who have made history in the world, Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu, from Romania, stands out: the first woman engineer in the world who graduated with honors in 1912, dedicated to geology research and education.
There is also the case of Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, better known as Hedy Lamarr, born in Vienna, and a great star in Hollywood cinema, who devised and patented frequency hopping spread spectrum transmission (FHDD), in whose principles GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are based.
Likewise, the Americans Emily Roeblin, the technical leader in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, completed in 1883, and Helen Augusta Blanchard, known as “Lady Edison” and author of 28 patents for sewing machines, especially the zigzag sewing machine, created in 1873.
