International Women in Engineering Day: Nishtha Kalra’s take on confidence, coding, and women in engineering

“The skills that make someone a good engineer, such as problem-solving, creativity, and curiosity, are not tied to gender.”

In year 8, Nishtha Kalra, a Senior Developer at the Bennett Institute, wrote her first programme. It was a simple calculator, but she remembers being amazed that she could build something that actually worked. “Seeing the result appear on the screen felt almost magical,” she says.

That early sense of possibility was strengthened by women around her. At secondary school, Nishtha’s female computer science teacher introduced her to the fundamentals of programming, and helped her build her confidence in the subject. Several of her female cousins, who had studied software engineering and went on to lead successful careers, also played a part. “They made coding feel approachable, enjoyable, and exciting,” she says. “They convinced me that technology was a path I could pursue, too.”

For many girls and young women, that same sense of possibility can still feel out of reach. While inclusion has continued to improve, engineering is still a male-dominated profession. In 2025, women made up only 16.9% of the UK’s engineering and technology workforce compared to 56% of female workers in other occupations across the UK. Also, according to Engineering UK’s Science Education Tracker 2023, only 16% of girls think engineering is suitable for them compared with 44% of boys.

At the Bennett Institute, Nishtha’s role goes beyond writing code. As a Senior Developer, she contributes ideas and proposes solutions that influence technical decisions - work that requires the confidence to speak up, particularly during challenging moments. She credits the women around her, particularly women in leadership positions, with making those moments easier.

“I’ve worked on teams where I was the only woman. While my colleagues were supportive, it could sometimes feel isolating,” she says. “Having talented women around me makes a real difference. It creates an environment where I feel more comfortable being myself, sharing ideas and discussing challenges openly.”

Beyond her work at the Bennett Institute, Nishtha volunteers with a coding club at the Barbican Library, working with young people aged 9-16. It’s a reminder, she says, of how exciting technology can be when you’re first discovering it – particularly for the girls who may not always see themselves represented in technical fields. While her engineering projects at the Bennett Institute solve immediate technical problems, she sees the coding club as something longer-term: an investment in the next generation of female engineers.

In her career, Nishtha has found that confidence can be a bigger barrier than ability. “Many women underestimate their skills, or feel they need to know everything before they can contribute, but no one in software engineering has all the answers, all the time,” she says.

Her advice to other women?

Start small, build something, try a platform like HackerRank or LeetCode, and talk to other engineers about their experiences. “If technology interests you, give it a go,” she says. “Don’t let self-doubt stop you from pursuing something you enjoy.”