HS2 Ltd has released a short film challenging preconceptions of what an engineer should look like to mark International Women in Engineering Day.
Commemorating International Women in Engineering Day yesterday, June 23, the video features HS2 Ltd Project Management apprentice Clara Lenzi at work. Ms Lenzi said: “I am proud to be one of many apprentices working for HS2 who are women. At HS2 I’ve been given lots of responsibility, which has aided my progression and success as a Project Manager and allowed me to build invaluable relationships within the workplace. I am learning from some of the most experienced people in the industry.”
HS2 Ltd is working to encourage better representation of women and minority groups in its engineering and construction projects; and has rolled out a number of employment programmes and educational schemes aimed at promoting engineering as a career choice for young women. Only 12% of the UK’s professional engineers are women – the lowest proportion in Europe – while HS2 notes that its most recent intake of engineering apprentices consisted of 43% women.
Mark Lomas, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at HS2 Ltd, said: “From procurement to training, inclusivity is at the heart of all that we do. Initiatives such as the establishment of a Gender Balance Network and a blind auditioning pilot have seen HS2 recognised this year as the number one gender-inclusive employer by Vercida for our approach to tackling these inequalities. Elsewhere, our education programmes and curriculum-linked materials are helping showcase the benefits of a career in science, technology, engineering and maths – or STEM – to young people up and down the country.”
International Women in Engineering Day, which began in 2014 as National Women in Engineering Day and became an international event in 2017, is an annual celebration of women in the engineering industry spearheaded by the Women’s Engineering Society.
