Lillian Gilbreth
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER (1878 - 1972)
"Americas first lady of engineering", Lilian Gilbreth's
background in psychology led her into industrial
and engineering world with no formal education.
Gilbreth and her husband, Frank Gilbreth, were
efficiency experts who contributed to the study of
industrial engineering, especially in the areas of
time-and-motion studies and human factors. She is
best known for combining psychology with the
study of scientific management and engineering,
specifically helping industrial engineers recognize
the importance of the psychological dimensions of
work. Additionally, the Gilbreths did research on
fatigue study, the forerunner to ergonomics. They
developed a term called Therbligs (based on their
name spelled backwards), which are 18 kinds of
elemental motions that should be studied. In 1950,
she was the first honorary member of the newly
created Society of Women Engineers.
Pauline Gower
GROUND ENGINEER (1910 - 1947)
An interwar air circus pilot, Gower was the
daughter of an MP. She was very well
connected, socially and politically. She was
also incredibly diplomatic and made it her
mission to see women succeed in aviation.'
Some people believe women pilots to be a
race apart and born 'fully fledged'. Women are
not born with wings, neither are men for that
matter. Wings are won by hard work, just as
proficiency is won in any profession'. During
World War Two Gower campaigned for
women pilots to serve in 1939 she was
appointed a commissioner of the civil air
guard. She encouraged other female pilots to
join her and helped train them, Gower also
campaigned and obtained equal pay for her
female pilots as what the men received and
she was awarded an MBE in 1942.
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