"The event is about trying to create great role models," said Ms Charman-Anderson, who started the event in 2009.
"We are trying to get the message out to girls, young women and mid-career women to say, 'You can achieve this and look, here are some awesome women who've done that.'
"We are severely lacking in good strong female role models in these areas."
Performers at the cabaret include technology broadcaster Gia Milinovich, accelerator physicist Dr Suzie Sheehey and science writer Dr Helen Scales.
The Women's Engineering Society (WES) will also use the event to present an award to civil engineer Karen Cooksey, whom it has crowned the "best newly qualified chartered engineer" of the year.
WES was established 95 years ago but currently has fewer than 700 members, said its ambassador, Dawn Bonfield.
A recruitment agency contacted the society recently to ask why it was not receiving any female applicants for its engineering-related job positions.
"A lot of our female members said engineering job adverts don't look appealing to women - they don't have women in the images, they don't mention anything about work-life balance, there doesn't appear to be any flexibility in terms of time," said Ms Bonfield.
"They just put women off somehow."