I’m a chartered engineer with 11 years of experience, from a first generation immigrant family, born and raised in Yorkshire. I fell into construction by accident – I did well at Maths and Physics at school which led to my degree in mechanical engineering. I always liked the scale and significance of buildings so applied for a job in the field, without really knowing where this would lead me.

There’s still a lot of educating required to help people understand the opportunities that are available within construction, over and above the traditional views of a building site. I think parents, teachers, and children don’t see much outside of bricklaying, when the truth is roles can be as broad as computational analysis, interior design, or, indeed, manual crafts. The industry also needs to act and change its culture to make it safe. Safe, both in the way it makes women feel in the workplace, but also by improving safety through divergent and dissenting viewpoints.

Within my career so far, I have seen an improvement in attitudes towards the changing balance of the workforce, but there’s no doubt, there is still a long way to go. There are naysayers, who don’t understand the need for change, but there are also role models who can help lead the way.I have been lucky to have some great mentors who have encouraged me and helped me get to where I am, and I hope to do the same for the generation to follow. As a woman in the field, it can be useful to seek out and learn from these people.

Personally, they have helped me see the impact I can and have had, giving me the confidence I need to challenge the ‘way-it-is’ mentality. By embracing this diversity, we can increase the opportunities for innovation, and utilise the skills, we as engineers, have as a collective. I believe it is only through this, that can we hope to tackle the biggest challenges society has today.