First Woman President of Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) 2008-2009
November 2011, Institution of Civil Engineers, London
b. 1948, Dover
Dr Jean Venables is a British civil engineer who in 2008 became the 144th President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, their first ever female president. The first woman member was admitted 81 years before this in 1927, and Jean was the 12th woman to be admitted as a Chartered Civil Engineer. By 2016 women comprised nearly 12% of total ICE membership, almost 7% of chartered civil engineers and just over 2% of Fellows. She was the first woman to be elected to the Smeatonian Society in 2003.