With only 15% of the construction workforce being female and Ringway striving to improve diversity, visible role models and recognition in this industry cannot be understated. To attract and retain leading female talent in today’s times, we acknowledge there are several barriers and misconceptions out there but wish to celebrate some key women who boost our successes.
Ringway understand that this industry can be a fantastic place for women to grow their careers and develop their skills, allowing women to embrace equity in a male-dominated industry and wish to spotlight some of these key women.
Karin Harwood, Jo Saunders and Katie Gray reflect on their careers and share their thoughts on promoting our industry to more women.
Left to right - Katie Gray, Joanne Saunders and Karin Harwood
“Being the Business Unit Manager, no two days are ever the same. I am passionate about high-quality delivery in fast-paced environments, and being part of a professional team that delivers acritical front line service to the travelling public. I initially started my career in Agriculture, before switching to Engineering in my early 20’s, both of these roles has allowed me to undertake site based activities as well as undertaking management based roles in the office, where I have enhanced my interpersonal, leadership and change management skills.
Undertaking an Operational role in the Highways industry is not a 9-5 job, I love the challenges that the industry provides, especially during the dynamic environment of delivering the Winter Service. My role allows me to lead and collaborate with teams, clients and outside organisations, in order to deliver a safe efficient highway service for Areas 1 & 2 of the Strategic Road Network on behalf of National Highways”. – Karin Harwood, Business Unit Manager
“I love working in civil engineering and I'm grateful for the amazing experiences I've had in this field, but I also know that we have a lot of work to do to make our industry more diverse and welcoming to women. In my early career, I was lucky enough to find myself being mentored by some exceptional male engineers, but as I move on in life, I find that I am craving something else; a female mentor, role model and sounding board. The male mentors in my life won’t leave, and nor do I want them to, but there is something about being a representation of me and the similar behaviours and mindsets that I feel is important. I want to have frank discussions about what matters to me and I believe that by being authentic, we can in turn break down some of the barriers to our industry for young girls and women. And so, as I look towards my future, I want to help this agenda, by being a visible role model and showing how we can balance our demanding careers with our personal lives, and how that can be hard, but also very fulfilling.” – Jo Saunders, Business Manager, Island Roads
“I have been a health, safety and environmental professional for over 20 years. Early on in my career. I had an employer who actively recognised and promoted the different benefits of diversity and in particular qualities women bring to industry. At the time I found it hard to relate to this and questioned why there should be any difference. However, through my time spent in industry I now reflect on these, sometimes, uncomfortable conversations and celebrate the qualities women bring to the work environment to create positive change. I am fortunate that in my current role I have a strong female role model and senior male ally who actively support my development. If I were to pass on any advice, I would simply say be empowered by your differences and do not be held back by what is a perceived norm.” – Katie Gray, Senior Health, Safety&Environmental Advisor
Our partnership packages are a flexible and accessible way to support Women in Transport and your organisation's equity, diversity and inclusion objectives. Learn more about our partnership opportunities here and contact us if you would like a meeting to discuss how we can work together.
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