As part of our celebrations for International Women in Engineering Day on Friday 23 June, our staff network Women at SGN have hosted a week of virtual events for our female colleagues and allies.
Women at SGN was launched in autumn 2022 as our first staff network and is a place for women from all roles, departments and regions to give and get advice about their careers. Created and chaired by Stakeholder and Community Manager Helen Peile, it serves as a voice for women in the company to get their views across to our leaders and offers a useful place to organise practical support, such as helping colleagues organise mentoring and shadowing opportunities.
Helen said: “The main aim behind this network was to get women to support and encourage each other to succeed and to be there for each other if we fall. I think we are getting there, and I am incredibly proud of everything we continue to achieve together.”
We kicked the week off with a webinar with Head of Southern Construction Tracey McIntyre, who shared her experience of working in a male-dominated industry and how she worked to get where she is today. She started with us as a gas service engineer apprentice in 1989 and is now responsible for over 500 people as well as multimillion pound projects. She spoke about how she was one of only three female apprentices out of 500 joining at that time, the public’s reactions to seeing a female engineer in their homes, and the struggle of juggling a career while raising a family.
‘How to increase gender diversity in engineering roles’ was the theme of a panel discussion held on Wednesday. Our panel of senior leaders included Director of Southern Operations Director and Executive Sponsor of Women at SGN Martin Holloway, Head of Green Gas Solutions and Sponsor of Women at SGN Annabel West, Head of Network Strategy Andrew Musgrave and Business Performance Manager Karen McAllister. Together with the audience, they discussed topics including how to recruit, develop, engage and retain more women into engineering roles.
Our regular radio show Energy FM dedicated Thursday’s show to INWED and featured interviews with senior leaders and women from across the company on their experiences and the importance of celebrating female engineers.
The week of celebrations was rounded off with an informal INWED quiz and chat for female colleagues and male allies, with a further opportunity to hear colleagues’ views on what the network’s priorities and plans should be going forward.
Helen added: “As we approach our first anniversary, I’m proud of what has been achieved so far: over 220 members on our Yammer page with nearly 100 posts sharing stories, information, ideas and just saying hello. With great support from colleagues at all levels, we’ve organised networking lunches at our offices and depots in Horley, Walton Park, Edinburgh, Aldershot and Glasgow, with more planned for the future.”
“We’ve been able to offer personal development training, arranged site visits and been a safe space for women to ask for and offer advice and support. I look forward to continuing to support the women’s network and look forward to seeing and helping with our new networks in the pipeline.”
