Firms competing to build the nation’s infrastructure need to hire more women civil engineers to end a men-only tradition and fill the recruitment gap.

Civil engineers – responsible for designing everything from bridges to water networks – say they need more females.

The appeal was made as Scotland’s oldest professional engineering body, the Institution of Civil Engineers Glasgow and West of Scotland, marks its 125th anniversary.

Despite getting the grades at school, girls still do not see engineering as an option. Only 8% of registered civil engineers are female in Scotland, though 16% of engineering students are now female, heralding increased future diversity.

However, InterConnect, a programme designed to link women in industry with those in university, said the goal should be nearer 30%.

Jenny Tizard, director of the Scottish Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology, which runs InterConnect, said the small minority of women on engineering courses want to meet professionals who can offer career advice.

She said: “Many women will be aware that this is a male-defined area of work. It’s an issue of how the industry is seen and how the departments are seen within universities, because they are still quite male-dominated.

“The message needs to get to high schools that girls are missing out on well-paying, interesting and creative jobs in science, engineering and technology.”

The professional industry body, the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE), said 250 of 1572 student members in Scotland were female, while just two of 471 fellows in Scotland were women, showing the gap that still has to be closed.

Nicola Smith, of ICE Scotland, said: “We need to urge more girls to consider

engineering because maybe they dismiss it for social reasons.

“There are a lot of girls with excellent marks in maths and physics.

“The industry wants more good people and a lot of girls fall into that category. You get a chance to do things and go places and have access to things that everybody uses and takes for granted.

“Everything people do each day has a civil engineer underneath it. These girls could have a real influence on Scotland’s future.”