On Thursday 23 June, McLaren Racing will host a significant networking event to celebrate International Women in Engineering Day (INWED).

The day marks the celebration of the global motorsport brand’s female talent, as INWED also marks the one-year anniversary of its flagship DE&I programme, McLaren Racing Engage, which aims to tackle the STEM skills shortage, address systemic inequalities, and seek new ways to unlock the full potential of all individuals with talent, passion and a drive to succeed.

INWED began in the UK in 2014 as a national campaign from the Women’s Engineering Society, one of McLaren Racing Engage’s alliance partners.

The event will feature a group panel discussion with two of its alliance partners, Women’s Engineering Society (WES) and The Smallpeice Trust, to discuss how McLaren is supporting the next generation of women on their journey into the engineering industry.

In its first year, through various inspiring initiatives, McLaren Racing has supported its four alliance partners in the following activations:

Women’s Engineering Society (WES)

McLaren Racing Engage provided sponsorship for the 2021 WES annual and student conferences, and further participated in the annual WES ‘Lottie Tour’ campaign during Tomorrow’s Engineers Week.

‘Lottie Tour’ provides inspiration and interest to the younger engineering audience as female engineers share their engineering experiences with a doll named Lottie, with McLaren Racing’s own female engineers participating in the campaign.

EqualEngineers

As part of our commitment to improve diversity in motorsport, McLaren Racing supported students from diverse backgrounds facing barriers to securing a graduate employment in engineering through EqualEngineers. The EqualEngineers Pathways Programme is a 12-month programme that aims to ensure greater employability outcomes for engineering students through McLaren Racing mentoring and online resources.

As a founding partner in the EqualEngineers Pathways Programme, McLaren Racing have so far provided 23 mentors to current undergraduates. McLaren Racing also joined the 2021 Engineering Talent Awards as a principal partner, supporting EqualEngineers in its efforts to raise the profile of the engineering and technology professions across the UK and celebrate diversity in the industry.

Smallpeice Trust

The Smallpeice Trust and McLaren Racing co-designed a STEM challenge day to introduce students to the world of engineering. This opportunity replicated an interactive experience around designing and building an F1 race car, as well as pitching for investment. Using EngineeringUK’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion selection criteria, in 2021 McLaren Racing piloted a scheme that will bring the challenge day to 1,000 students across 15 local schools over 2022.

In 2021, McLaren Racing provided funding support to the Trust’s Arkwright Engineering Scholarship programme, which awarded five students a two-year sponsorship and paired them each to a dedicated mentor from McLaren’s engineering team.

Creative Access

Creative Access works with McLaren Racing on improving inclusive strategies, policies and recruitment practices around hiring, educating and uplifting diverse talent in its creative functions.

In October 2021, the McLaren Racing x Creative Access Career Development Bursary was launched to reduce and remove cost barriers to entering or progressing within the industry. In January 2022, the fund awarded grants to 25 individuals, providing financial support for training courses, software, equipment and relocation costs, as well as disability access support, care costs and bespoke coaching or mentoring.

What is McLaren Racing Engage?

The first programme of its kind in F1, McLaren Racing Engage represents a pioneering strategic alliance with four expert partners which aims to diversify talent in motorsport through multi-year investments in grassroots-level initiatives, funding and mentorship programmes.

The alliance has been envisioned to drive a shared agenda to encourage STEM and F1 as an accessible vocation to under-represented and under-privileged groups to those with an interest and passion to work in the motorsport industry. Equally, the programme is to promote a diverse and inclusive culture within McLaren’s workforce and communities by providing accessibility to young people and under-represented groups. While the programme also reinforces McLaren Racing’s commitment to meaningful and sustained changes as an employer, and F1 as a sport and industry.

And as part of our commitment to McLaren Racing Engage, we are proud to announce that McLaren Racing is an official sponsor for 2022 International Women in Engineering Day.

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