Reaping the rewards of a diverse workforce

In-Depth

How two engineering employers are addressing their gender imbalance and reaping the rewards

Latest figures from Engineering UK’s 2018 report on the state of engineering show only around 12% of the UK’s engineering workforce is female. The report also acknowledges that employers have a significant role to play in promoting equality and diversity, a view shared by Elizabeth Donnelly, CEO of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES).

Two companies which prove that businesses large and small can get things right are global infrastructure services firm, AECOM and small UK family business, G&B Electronics. Both have created a working culture which is inclusive and diverse and benefits not just women but men too.

In 2018, nearly half of AECOM’s UK and Ireland graduate intake was female and its latest diversity figures show that 31% of the company’s workforce in the UK and Ireland is female, with 13% in leadership roles, well above industry average. Its Freedom to Grow programme, launched last year, offers a whole new way of working and the company runs female mentoring and returners programmes to ensure that it retains women at all levels.

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