Famous Female Engineers Who Changed the World

Most people can name a dozen male engineers from history, but ask them about women in the field, and the silence is loud. That’s not because female engineers didn’t exist. It’s because their stories weren’t properly told. 

Only 16% of engineers in the U.S. are women today. Still, that number keeps growing, thanks to pioneers like:

1. Edith Clarke
2. Hedy Lamarr
3. Mary Jackson
4. Radia Perlman
5. Ursula Burns

With this article, we celebrate female engineers in fields like aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science, while encouraging more young women to step confidently into STEM. 

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Meet 15 Famous Female Engineers

Across history, women have had to fight for every opportunity, but still, they built, invented, and led. In this section, we shed light on 15 women engineers whose work speaks for itself.

Edith Clarke

Edith Clarke, widely known as the first female engineer, wasn’t just good at math. She was revolutionary with it. Born in 1883, she lost both parents young and threw herself into numbers like her life depended on it. After Vassar, she became the first woman to earn an electrical engineering degree from MIT. Back when women weren’t even expected to work, Edith was designing tools that changed how engineers handled electric power. She invented the Clarke Calculator, a device that simplified power line analysis, then broke another barrier by becoming the first female electrical engineering professor in the U.S. Her work didn’t just power homes, it powered possibility.

• Born: February 10, 1883
• Education: Vassar College; MIT, M.S. in Electrical Engineering
• Career: General Electric, University of Texas
• Known for: Clarke Calculator, engineering education
• Award: SWE Achievement Award (1954)

Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr was Hollywood royalty, but she thought faster than any script. Born in 1914 in Austria, she stunned audiences on screen and quietly reimagined how we communicate. With no engineering degree and zero formal training, she co-invented a frequency-hopping system to stop enemy forces from jamming Allied torpedoes during World War II and became one of the most impactful engineers. Her tech eventually helped create Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. For decades, no one knew. People just saw a pretty face. But Hedy was always more brain than glamour, and history finally caught up.

• Born: November 9, 1914
• Education: Self-taught
• Career: Actress, Inventor
• Known for: Frequency-hopping tech
• Award: EFF Pioneer Award (1997)

Radia Perlman

Radia Perlman didn’t set out to become the 'Mother of the Internet.' She just wanted to solve problems. Born in 1951, she studied computer science at MIT when women were few and far between. While working at DEC, she invented the Spanning Tree Protocol, a system that keeps networks from collapsing. That one breakthrough made the internet scalable. And she didn’t stop. She went on to earn over 100 patents and make networking more secure and stable for everyone. Radia never chased fame. She just wanted things to work, and because of her, they do.

• Born: January 1, 1951
• Education: MIT (B.S., M.S., Ph.D. in Computer Science)
• Career: Network engineer, computer scientist
• Known for: Spanning Tree Protocol
• Awards: National Academy of Engineering and the Internet Hall of Fame, SIGCOMM, USENIX

Ursula Burns

Ursula Burns grew up in a New York City housing project and ended up running one of America’s biggest companies. Born in 1958, she studied mechanical engineering at Columbia. She joined Xerox as an intern, climbed the ranks, and in 2009 became the first Black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company. Ursula reshaped what leadership looked like. Her voice became one of the strongest in corporate America for inclusion, STEM education, and real change.

• Born: September 20, 1958
• Education: NYU Poly, Columbia University
• Career: CEO and Chair of Xerox
• Known for: First Black woman to lead Fortune 500
• Awards: Forbes Power Women, many honorary degrees

Ada Lovelace

Ada Lovelace had a mind that could see the future in numbers. Born in 1815, she was raised on logic and science, a conscious effort by her mother to steer her away from the volatile poetry of her father, Lord Byron. That plan worked, though Ada’s imagination never left her. With encouragement from mentors like Mary Somerville and Charles Babbage, she studied mathematics and engineering concepts that were unheard of for women in her time. When she translated a paper on Babbage’s Analytical Engine, she added her own commentary, which marked the turning point in her life. These ideas would later be recognized as the first published computer algorithm. Ada understood something no one else did yet: that machines could do more than math. They could follow a sequence of instructions to process anything, including data, words, and even art. 

• Born: December 10, 1815
• Education: Privately tutored in math and science
• Career: Mathematician, scientific writer
• Known for: First computer algorithm
• Legacy: First computer programmer in history

Mary Jackson

Mary Jackson, born in 1921 in Virginia, studied math and physical science at Hampton Institute. She joined NASA’s predecessor as a human computer, but her talent couldn’t be boxed in. In 1958, she became NASA’s first female engineer as an African-American woman. She worked behind the scenes on supersonic flight, helping put America into space. Later, she stepped away from engineering to fight for gender and racial equality in the workplace. Most importantly, she made sure other women had a way in, too.

• Born: April 9, 1921
• Education: Hampton Institute
• Career: NASA aerospace engineer
• Known for: First Black woman engineer at NASA
• Award: Congressional Gold Medal (2019)

Patricia Bath

Born in 1942 in Harlem, Patricia Bath was curious, focused, and endlessly persistent. After earning her medical degree from Howard University, Patricia Bath found her calling in ophthalmology. In hospitals around the world, she kept noticing the same thing: people in low-income communities were losing their sight to conditions that could have been prevented. It gave patients a better shot at saving their vision and made her the first Black woman to receive a medical patent. She spent the rest of her life advocating for what she called ‘eye care equity,’ proving that access to healthcare is as much an engineering issue as it is a moral one.

• Born: November 4, 1942
• Education: Hunter College; Howard University (M.D.)
• Career: Ophthalmologist, inventor, researcher
• Known for: Inventing the Laserphaco Probe
• Awards: Holder of five U.S. patents; multiple honorary doctorates

Emily Roebling

Emily Roebling never set out to build a bridge, but when life threw her into the heart of one of America’s biggest engineering efforts, she refused to step aside. Born in 1843, she married Washington Roebling, who took over the Brooklyn Bridge project after his father’s death. But when Washington became gravely ill, Emily stepped in, first to deliver his messages, then to handle the technical work herself. She learned engineering on the fly, mastering everything from cable design to stress calculations, meeting with officials, overseeing workers, and managing the flow of construction. For over ten years, Emily made sure the bridge moved forward. 

• Born: September 23, 1843
• Education: Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School; self-educated in engineering
• Career: Project leader during the Brooklyn Bridge construction
• Known for: Managing and completing the Brooklyn Bridge
• Recognition: Honored at the bridge’s opening in 1883

Lillian Gilbreth

Lillian Gilbreth believed that engineering could make life easier, not just in factories, but in homes. Born in 1878, she earned a Ph.D. in psychology, a rare achievement for a woman of her era. When she partnered with her husband Frank, they became famous for time-and-motion studies that improved industrial work. But after he died suddenly, Lillian continued their research on her own, raising twelve children while running their consulting firm. She applied engineering principles to everyday tasks, redesigning kitchens and appliances to reduce unnecessary effort, essentially inventing the modern concept of ergonomic design. She later taught at Purdue and advised presidents on labor and disability. 

• Born: May 24, 1878
• Education: UC Berkeley; Brown University (Ph.D.)
• Career: Industrial engineer, psychologist, professor
• Known for: Time-motion studies, human-centered design
• Awards: National Academy of Engineering, Hoover Medal 

Martha Coston

Martha Coston wasn’t an engineer by training, but necessity turned her into one. Born in 1826, she was left widowed at 21 with four children and a set of rough technical notes from her late husband, mainly sketches for a naval flare system. She spent the next ten years learning chemistry and engineering on her own, working with chemists and pyrotechnic experts to develop a system of color-coded signal flares that could be seen over long distances. It became the Coston Night Signal System, adopted by the U.S. Navy and used throughout the Civil War. Martha patented the invention under her own name, which was a rare move at the time, and managed the business herself. She didn’t have formal education or support from the scientific establishment, but she had something else: resilience and a deep belief in what she was building.

• Born: December 12, 1826
• Education: Informal, self-taught
• Career: Inventor, entrepreneur
• Known for: Naval signal flare system
• Recognition: U.S. Navy contract; patent holder in her own name

Margaret Hutchinson Rousseau

Margaret Hutchinson Rousseau’s work helped save thousands of lives. Born in 1910, she became the first woman in the U.S. to earn a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, but her biggest impact came during World War II. During the war, Rousseau was behind the scenes, designing the first large-scale systems to produce penicillin. That breakthrough meant soldiers with life-threatening infections suddenly had a fighting chance. She also helped improve the production of synthetic rubber and aviation fuel, laying the groundwork for American manufacturing during a time of urgent need. She didn’t talk much about her achievements, but without her, a lot more lives would’ve been lost. Her success continues to inspire women in engineering to aim higher.

• Born: October 27, 1910
• Education: Rice Institute; MIT (Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering)
• Career: Chemical engineer, pharmaceutical and industrial production
• Known for: Scaling up penicillin production
• Awards: First female member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Achievement Award of the Society of Women Engineers, Founders Award of the AIChE

Mary Walton

Mary Walton was a 19th-century inventor who cared about city life before most people realized it needed improving. Living in New York during the Industrial Revolution, she noticed how much smoke poured from chimneys and how unbearable the noise from elevated trains had become. She patented a system to trap emissions in water tanks before they could pollute the air. Not long after, in 1881, she designed a method for reducing the environmental hazards of the smoke emitted from locomotive, industrial, and residential chimneys.

• Born: 1846 (exact date unknown)
• Education: Unknown
• Career: Inventor
• Known for: Pollution control system; railway noise reduction
• Recognition: Patents widely adopted in NYC transit

Beatrice Hicks

Beatrice Hicks helped build a movement. Born in 1919, she studied chemical and electrical engineering and went on to design sensors that could detect gas density in aircraft. These sensors were used in the early NASA space missions, including the Apollo Moon landing missions. She co-founded the Society of Women Engineers in 1950 to create space for women in engineering. At a time when few women could even get into an engineering classroom, Hicks pushed for visibility, recognition, and community.

• Born: January 2, 1919
• Education: Newark College of Engineering; Stevens Institute of Technology (M.S.)
• Career: Engineer, inventor, SWE co-founder
• Known for: Developing gas sensors used in aerospace
• Awards: National Inventors Hall of Fame, honorary doctorates from Hobart and William Smith College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Elsie Eaves

Elsie Eaves, with a mind for numbers and a passion for building, was the first female associate member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Born in 1898, long before women were welcome on construction sites, she earned a degree in civil engineering. Her career blended math, economics, and infrastructure. Eaves compiled detailed stats on construction trends and housing data that helped shape public policy. Eventually, her impact stretched across cities and industries. 

• Born: May 5, 1898
• Education: University of Colorado, Civil Engineering
• Career: Civil engineer, data analyst for construction and housing
• Known for: First female member of ASCE
• Awards: University of Colorado George Norlin Silver Medal, Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award

Kate Gleason

Kate Gleason’s childhood was full of gears and machinery, thanks to her father’s machine tool business. Born in 1865, she started helping out at the shop while still a teenager, eventually studying mechanical engineering at Cornell. She never finished her degree, but she didn’t need a diploma to prove her skill. She became the first woman to be named a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and made her mark in everything from gear manufacturing to real estate development. Kate traveled the world, ran businesses, and advocated for women’s education in engineering. 

• Born: November 25, 1865
• Education: Cornell University (attended, did not graduate)
• Career: Engineer, businesswoman
• Known for: First woman ASME member; gear-cutting innovations
• Legacy: Namesake of the Kate Gleason College of Engineering

Women in Engineering Today

Engineering is changing, but not nearly fast enough. Women are showing up in bigger numbers, earning degrees, and stepping into roles that used to be off-limits. Still, in 2023, female engineers and architects made up just 16% of the workforce in the U.S. But there’s movement. Between 2011 and 2021, the number of women earning engineering degrees more than doubled, going from around 16,000 to over 33,000. And in the UK, the percentage of female engineers rose from 8% to 12% in just seven years. 

For many women, getting into engineering is only the first step. The harder part is staying in, being heard, and moving up.

Here’s what still holds them back:

• Few mentors to turn to
• Not enough women in leadership roles
• Unequal pay
• Stereotypes that don’t go away
• Too few role models who look like them

The Importance of Diversity in Engineering

Creating space for more voices in engineering isn’t just a nice idea. It’s what the field needs to grow. As more women engineers step into roles across science and tech, support systems matter more than ever. That’s where these three programs come in.

Society of Women Engineers (SWE):

SWE has been backing women in engineering for decades. From scholarships that help pay for school to mentorship and career guidance, they’ve helped thousands of women stay in the game and thrive.

Million Women Mentors (MWM):

MWM builds real connections between young women and experienced professionals. They’re relationships that give encouragement, advice, and the confidence to keep going.

Girls Who Code:

This program is reaching girls early, giving them space to learn computer science in ways that feel fun, empowering, and accessible. It’s about skills, but it’s also about belonging.

How to Encourage More Female Engineers

Getting more women engineers into the field starts way earlier than college. It starts when girls are just beginning to figure out what they’re good at and what’s possible. That’s why early exposure matters. 

• When schools give girls the chance to build, explore, and ask questions in STEM spaces, it helps them feel like they belong there.
• Seeing women engineers in books, shows, or even speaking at school can plant the idea that engineering isn’t out of reach.
• Mentorship is another big piece. When girls meet someone who’s already done it, the path feels real.
• Parents and teachers have power here, too. Supporting curiosity, encouraging problem-solving, and tossing outdated stereotypes aside makes a bigger difference than most people realize.
• And when scholarships, internships, and real opportunities are available, it’s easier for that early interest to grow into something more

Key Takeaways

Every breakthrough in engineering has been shaped by more than just numbers. It’s been shaped by people. And many of those people were women engineers who had to work twice as hard to be seen. Women have left their mark on every corner of engineering. From Ada Lovelace to Ursula Burns, their work still drives progress. 

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