Women’s Networks join forces to discuss the value of diversity in the workplace

2018 marks 100 years of women’s suffrage and has been named the year of engineering in a government led campaign. On 6th March EDF Energy, EY and Women in Nuclear organised an event where panellists discussed some critical issues surrounding gender and careers. These careers include, but are not restricted to, science, technology, and engineering.

The event organised EDF Energy, EY and Women in Nuclear is a timely one. Claire Edwards from EY Women’s Network said that ‘Putting gender on the agenda will redefine opportunities for future generations of women, forging a lasting legacy of growth, increased prosperity and stronger communities.’

She added ‘EY was proud to partner with EDF Energy and Women in Nuclear to support the ‘Value of Diversity in the Workplace’ event.  To accelerate achievement of gender parity we need purposeful action by both men and women to recruit, retain and advance women in equal proportion to their numbers and commensurate with the limitless potential they offer the workplace. ‘

EY is committed to creating and supporting diversity and inclusiveness across all sectors and has a strong commitment to corporate social responsibility.  This event provided a fantastic opportunity for local employers to engage and share ideas as well as access to role models and networks.

The panel L-R: Jennie Jenkins, Sukhy Hogwood from EDF Energy, Eve Guilloton from Thomas Thor Associates, Minna Lewis from EY and event chair Deborah Beveridge from EDF Energy.

The panel was made up of four inspirational women and chaired by Deborah Beveridge from EDF Energy.

Jennie Jenkins was born in the early 50s and always had a problem with her born male gender. ‘All seemed OK for a while until 2009 whilst on holiday I had a heart attack and I died, however, fortunately, was saved. ‘

This was the catalyst for Jennie to start on her journey towards transition.  In 2013, she discussed her gender change with her doctor who was really understanding and arranged assessments. She added ‘I feel I am a much nicer person now that I am living life without the pressures of hidden secrets. This candid account from Jenkins gave poignant insight into her challenges as a transgender woman in an engineering sector dominated by men.

Sukhy Hogwood won the best woman in health and safety at the European Women in Construction and Engineering Awards 2017 and is a full-time working mum to three-year-old twin girls. Sukhy began working for EDF Energy in 2010 and during her time there she has been responsible for the construction design and design management systems and the implementation of safety management systems.

She works hard to embed the right behaviours and cultures on the project to enable everyone to succeed. ‘I want to inspire more women to work in construction – to believe in themselves and to have the self-assurance to break down any barriers they face’. Hogwood, eloquently expressed how bias is ingrained in the workplace and how companies can start to address this unconscious prejudice.

Sukhy Hogwood from EDF Energy and Eve Guilloton from Thomas Thor Associates

Eve Guilloton is part of the Management team of Thomas Thor Associates. With a Masters in economics, Eve has a background of 10 years in Recruitment, Consulting and Executive Search on a European level. Eve joined Thomas Thor Associates in 2012 to create the Permanent Recruitment division. She has looked at many ways to make the recruitment process for women in nuclear more equal, including the use of gender-biased language in recruitment advertisements and interviews.

Minna Lewis is part of EY’s People Advisory Services Team, focused on diversity and inclusion. Minna works with clients to harness their ‘people agenda’ and build highest-performing teams, which make the most of different opinions, perspectives and cultural references. Lewis looks to challenge ideas surrounding professional performance based on criteria that favour male employees and ways to tackle recruitment bias though applications that do not include personal information.

Event chair Deborah Beveridge has always been an ambassador for the Women’s Networks, previously at General Electric and now at EDF Energy. Beveridge said ‘EDF Energy is dedicated to helping women get the most out of their careers, ensuring they meet their full potential. We work hard to support and develop our employees and through our Women’s Network, with close to 1,000 members, we provide one-to-one mentoring, career-development programmes and regular coaching events.

There is evidence from industry and academia that diversity in the workforce can only be positive for business.  Having a workforce comprised of people with different backgrounds, experiences and skills mean the ideas generated by these teams won’t be homogenous – they will be innovative and creative. And this can have a significant impact on an organisation’s bottom line; UK public companies with a diverse executive board have a higher return on equity than those with non-diverse boards.

Diversity in the workplace has been a goal of many organisations, but how to successfully implement change is complicated. Opening a dialogue around the issues of diversity and inclusion can only be a positive step. Panel discussions such as this one and the diversity networks that organize them feedback into the workplace and can start to implement change.