Emily Carr is McGavigan’s CAD Designer, working closely with our business development and technical leads to design and develop products for the automotive and consumer sectors. Emily works across a wide range of product categories including steering wheel control sets, overhead modules, control panels, and capacitive touch screen panels.

On International Women’s Day, Emily reflects on her design and engineering background and what it’s like to be a woman working in a male-dominated industry.

At school, I really enjoyed maths, physics and graphic communication (CAD drawings etc) but I didn’t know what I wanted to be. I spent months reviewing degree courses that fed my love of STEM subjects but also involved a degree of creativity and design. When my friend sent me a link to the Product Design Engineering course at Strathclyde it sounded perfect.

You earned a Masters Degree in Engineering Design from Strathclyde University. According to the University’s 2017 Student monitoring report only 25% of its Engineering students are women. Is that something you were aware of before you started your degree and did that create any challenges for you?

I was aware there were fewer women in engineering. Even before going to University, I was one of the only women in my advanced STEM classes. My engineering department (DMEM) within Strathclyde had a fair mix of women but it was clear other engineering departments were still very male-dominated.

Where has your career taken you and what is your current role in McGavigan’s?

After graduating in 2015, I worked in a plastic packaging company designing innovative packaging solutions for a range of well-known consumer brands. I joined the McGavigan team in 2018. The automotive industry is incredibly innovative and creative, with major trends towards lighter, more streamlined, integrated products to meet the sector’s sustainability goals. It’s a very exciting time to be involved in product design and development.

What are the most challenging and rewarding aspects of your job?

I am part of a small team at McGavigan although, since our acquisition by CCL Design, I will be feeding into a larger Research & Development team. It can be challenging to juggle all the different daily elements but I genuinely love the variety of my role, together with working collaboratively with so many departments and customers. It is really satisfying to see a design I created being used daily to help create our products.

Do you think being a woman helps or hinders your career?

Luckily, I believe I am living and working in a time where being a woman has less impact on your career. I know in the past I may have been turned down for a role for being a woman but in McGavigan’s there is no impact.

Do you have any female role models or mentors?

My Mum. She had a very successful career in the public sector and has recently set out on her own entrepreneurial journey, setting up her own company. I can always rely on my Mum for honest and valuable advice.

What would you say to girls and women looking to study engineering or another STEM subject?

I think it is key to follow subjects you enjoy and try not to worry about what your friends are doing. If you enjoy science and technology subjects there are lots of opportunities to create and progress your career. Go for it!

When not Working?

My husband and I both love off-road driving and are members of our local group. We are also season ticket holders at Murrayfield and now that international travel is opening back up we are looking forward to getting back on the slopes.

Emily Carr with colleagues, Paul Marsh and Thomas Pöhlmann at a recent CCL Design visit