After my recent EngineerIT article on South Africa’s engineering blind spot, a long-standing reader sent me thoughtful feedback that added another dimension to the discussion. It felt important to continue the conversation here.
The original article is available on this website.
The reader shared his daughter’s story. She excelled academically, completed her engineering degree, joined a supportive workplace and progressed without facing the barriers that many women still encounter. After becoming a parent, she chose to step away from engineering for a time. One of her friends followed a similar path. Another, who is not planning to have children, has continued in the profession without interruption.
According to his feedback, life shifted, priorities changed, and these women made personal choices that had nothing to do with discrimination or workplace culture. Many families will recognise a story like this, and it highlights something important.
Women often leave engineering not because they are pushed out, but because the profession still assumes uninterrupted career progression. Technical expertise is built through long project cycles, steady visibility and continuous involvement. When someone steps out, even temporarily, returning can feel difficult. Not because they lack commitment or capability, but because re-entry routes are unclear and the pace of change can feel daunting.
This is where structure plays a defining role. Careers today are not linear. People move through phases that include caregiving, health challenges, relocations or shifts in responsibility. Engineering has been slower than many other fields to adapt to these realities.
Some women return with confidence once their children are older. Others want to return but find the gap hard to bridge. This is the part of the pipeline that receives the least attention, yet it accounts for a significant loss of mid-career engineering talent.
If companies want to retain more engineers over the long term, the definition of retention needs to broaden. Support is still heavily focused on graduates and early-career professionals. Far less attention goes to those who need updated training, flexible pathways or structured re-entry opportunities after stepping away for a few years.
This is not about blame. It is about design. The reader’s message was a reminder that multiple factors influence why women stay in, leave or return to engineering. Personal choice is real, but the options available around that choice are shaped by the way the profession is built.
If we recognise that motherhood and other life phases form part of the engineering landscape, rather than an interruption to it, we can create a profession that retains far more of its talent and welcomes people back when they are ready.
That is essential if South Africa hopes to grow its engineering workforce in any meaningful way.
