Dorothy Smith

Dorothy Smith (10 February 1899 – 22 February 1975) was a British electrical engineer. She worked for the engineering firm Metropolitan-Vickers (formerly British Westinghouse) from 1916 to 1959, retiring after forty-three years at the company. She was the second woman to gain Full Membership of the Institution of Electrical Engineers since Hertha Ayrton in 1899 and was a prominent member of the Manchester branch of the Women's Engineering Society.

Early life and education Dorothy was born to parents James H Smith and Amelia Smith (née Bebbington) in Stretford, Lancashire. She attended the Manchester High School for Girls under a Foundation and Lancashire County Scholarship.

Career and Metropolitan-Vickers Dorothy joined the engineering firm British Westinghouse in 1916 as a junior trainee in the Transformer Drawing office. She quickly transferred to the Electrical Engineering Department where she spent 12 months, after which she was sent to the Induction Motor section to begin designing small induction motors. At the start of her employment with British Westinghouse, Dorothy attended part-time studies at the Manchester College of Technology and was awarded a College Associateship in Electrical Engineering after five years. In 1937, Dorothy served as an opposition member at a meeting of the Metropolitan-Vickers Debating Society, arguing against the motion "That the Introduction of Female Apprentices to these works is to be deplored." She was joined in her opposition by Dorothy Garfitt, Anne Gillespie Shaw, and Gertrude Entwisle, fellow Metropolitan-Vickers employees and members of the Women's Engineering Society. The motion was lost by 78 votes to 61.

Between 1947 and her retirement in 1959, Dorothy was responsible for compiling detailed catalogues of flameproof motor designs manufactured by Metropolitan-Vickers, and oversaw the presentation of these designs to the Ministry of Power.

She joined the Women's Engineering Society (WES) in the early 1920s shortly after its founding, and remained an honorary member until her death in 1975. She served in various positions within the organisation, acting as the first Treasurer of the Manchester Branch in 1943, Chairman of the Manchester Branch from 1943 to 1945, and was a member of general Council from 1947 until her retirement in 1959. She was elected an Honorary Member in 1965. Her WES obituary was written by fellow Manchester branch member and Metropolitan Vickers colleague, Isabel Hardwich.