“It’s important that young girls have role models they can look up to within certain fields.”

The event ‘Enhanced by Engineering’ was about celebrating the women in engineering who are making a difference to people’s day-to-day lives. Blaise Elsmore, organiser and co-host, talks about the importance of diversity within the industry and her journey to becoming Onboard Systems Project Engineer at Avanti West Coast.

21 June 2024

I joined the West Midlands Women in Rail committee last year and was really keen to host an event for this year’s International Women in Engineering Day. We collaborated with the local committees for the Young Rail Professionals and The Institution of Engineering and Technology to pull the event together, making ‘Enhanced by Engineering’ the theme to highlight women in engineering who are making a difference to people’s day-to-day lives. Alongside a panel discussion, we had three amazing speakers at varying stages in their engineering careers who spoke about their individual experiences within the industry so far.

It’s really insightful to speak to both women and men at our events and share our experiences, I feel very inspired by them. I like the phrase ‘if you have a room full of people who are the same, then you’ll always get the same answer’. With an industry that is still male dominated, we have to bring the importance of diversity to the front of people’s minds, challenge any stereotypes and show how beneficial a diverse workforce is.

I think gender imbalance stems back to the subjects you study at school and the careers you’re aware of when you’re a child; female students were always the minority in the subjects I enjoyed at school, which were mainly the sciences and maths, and this continued into studying physics at degree level where less than 10 percent of my class were women. Following my degree, I started as a Graduate Engineer Analyst in 2017 and progressed into the Engineering team at Avanti. I’ve recently completed studying for my Masters in Railway Systems Engineering and Integration and hope to apply for my Chartership later this year.

“We have to bring the importance of diversity to the front of people’s minds, challenge any stereotypes and show how beneficial a diverse workforce is.”

It’s important that young girls have role models they can look up to within certain fields and industries and that can only happen through providing early exposure to engineering at school level. As a rail company, I think we have a crucial part to play in supporting engagement within schools and inspiring the next generation of young talent.

Breaking into a male dominated industry may feel daunting, but there are so many mentoring programmes and networks out there specifically aimed at supporting women to help guide them on their journey. Along with promoting allyship with our male counterparts, I really hope our event empowered both current and aspiring female engineers.

Main image (Left to Right): Stacy Thundercliffe (Head of Fleet and Engineering at Avanti West Coast), Blaise Elsmore (Onboard Systems Project Engineer at Avanti West Coast)