As we celebrate Women’s History Month this March 2025, Westward—an engineering, environmental, and geosciences consulting firm proud to employ three female engineers—honors the legacy of Lillian Gilbreth, a trailblazer who redefined efficiency in engineering and beyond. Known as the “Mother of Modern Management,” Gilbreth’s contributions resonate with our company’s mission to innovate and optimize, making her a fitting icon for our team.

Born in 1878 in Oakland, California, Lillian Moller Gilbreth was a woman ahead of her time. She earned a Ph.D. in psychology from Brown University in 1915—one of the first women to do so—while raising a family of twelve with her husband, Frank Gilbreth. Together, they pioneered time and motion studies, a cornerstone of industrial engineering that aimed to streamline processes and reduce worker fatigue. After Frank’s death in 1924, Lillian carried their work forward, proving her resilience in a male-dominated field.

At Westward, precision and efficiency are at the core of our projects, making Gilbreth’s innovations particularly inspiring. She co-developed the “Therblig” system— a framework for analyzing human motion in tasks—that paved the way for modern ergonomics. Her work didn’t stop at factories; she brought engineering into homes, designing kitchens that prioritized accessibility and ease, including features like foot-pedal trash cans and optimized counter heights. These practical solutions showcase her ability to blend technical expertise with human-centered design.

Lillian’s legacy extends beyond her inventions. As a widow, she broke barriers by becoming the first female engineering professor at Purdue University and a sought-after consultant for companies like General Electric. Her story, told in the book and film Cheaper by the Dozen, reflects not just her professional triumphs but her ability to balance family and career—a challenge many women in STEM still navigate today. At Westward, we see her as a symbol of perseverance, inspiring our team to push boundaries while fostering inclusivity.

Gilbreth’s impact endures in the systems we use and the spaces we inhabit today. She showed that engineering isn’t just about machines, it’s about people. This Women’s History Month, we celebrate her as a pioneer who paved the way for women like our own engineers, who continue to shape the future of our field.