I’ve just seen a female engineer who is willing to “get stuck in” on a chemical plant described as “one of the lads”.

OK, this was a fictional engineer, although based on a real person. She was part of a worked example in a training course I just went on.

I know and have known several female engineers, many of whom wear overalls and boots and “get stuck in” in chemical plants on a daily basis, in smelly, hazardous and thoroughly antisocial conditions. These are extremely hard working women, shrewd and technically competent, and they work long hours to get a quality job done. On their example, I should aspire to being “one of the girls”.

One of the lads indeed. For fuck’s sake, I thought we were past this kind of thing. It’s the 21st century and we don’t have enough engineers, period.