海角视频

The theme for this year鈥檚 International Women in Engineering Day is Inventors and Innovators. Hear from a group of our young engineers on what a more gender inclusive workplace can look like.

To celebrate International Women in Engineering Day, I wanted to take a look at inventing the workplace of the future, and how we can make it more gender inclusive. The post-Covid world has offered us an opportunity to rethink our approach to offices and to assess what innovations we need to create a better work environment for all.

To assess this, we gathered a group of our young engineers from around the globe to discuss their own experiences in the industry. They include Nousheen Anjum (MEP), Alice Dale (Infrastructure), Habiba Moubarak (Structures), Vaishali Senthil (Sustainability) and Florence Wong (Ground Engineering). The discussion was moderated by our Infrastructure Engineer R茅ka Berkes.

What was your perception of the industry and an engineering workplace prior to joining it?

Alice: My only experience in an engineering workplace previously was an internship in a small company. I was one of the only women in an engineering role. There were other women in admin roles and an office manager, but I do understand it鈥檚 difficult for smaller companies to create a diverse workforce. Coming to 海角视频 (BH), it was really good to see – especially at junior levels – that there are so many more women. I think my original perception was that I would be the only woman in a team and that was quickly changed.

Florence: My first impression of the industry was when I was applying to university and doing the open days. I remember many of them had about two girls in a lecture hall, the rest were all guys. I did an internship in Hong Kong, a placement after my first year, and there was a woman in a senior position, which was very inspiring to see. But note, it was just the one. I did notice when joining BH that they were trying to get more girls in. Every year we seem to be getting a more balanced gender ratio in the graduate cohorts which does make a difference. I notice how much nicer the work environment with more girls because I feel like I can talk more freely.

Habiba: To be fair, I already had quite a positive expectation of the female to male ratio, as I think it鈥檚 more balanced in Denmark and Scandinavian countries in general. So I wouldn’t say by working for BH my expectation’s changed, it鈥檚 more that it鈥檚 been affirmed that there is an attempt to create equality in the team. We鈥檙e quite a young office, small team as well, but in the structures team it’s about 40% women. It鈥檚 quite good, and it is what I had hoped for. But at the end of the day, I understand that hiring is based on qualification, not just gender, so it’s good to see that you can get qualified women. I would say the common theme is that I always find women up to often senior engineer level, but not much higher. I haven’t met many women in higher positions than that.

Vaishali: I was about to say something quite similar. I鈥檓 in the sustainability and physics team and I think there are actually more women than men on the London team. So it鈥檚 a lot of women at the junior to senior engineer level, but when you look at associate or director levels, not so much. In general, I think there’s a bit of a discrepancy in it. You can see that there’s a push to get a better gender mix in hiring but it doesn鈥檛 filter up. The ones who do get into very senior positions always tell stories of how they were always the only woman in their teams. So the landscape is changing, which I鈥檓 happy about.

Nousheen: I have a slightly different experience because I’m in the MEP team which is still very male-dominated. Echoing what you all said, the gender ratio is better when it comes to graduate engineer level, but there are rarely women higher than senior engineer level. I think that funnels into the culture. It also creates the idea that there’s a glass ceiling here; there isn’t someone to look up to in how to progress as a woman in the field. It’s nice to have a woman to go to for specific advice who’s really senior to you. So it鈥檚 quite different.

Based on all that, how do you think the work environment changes when there鈥檚 a better gender balance?

Florence: When I joined, I felt there was a larger imbalance in the gender ratio. Even though I was a peer to many of the men, I still felt like I was treated as their younger sister. They would talk over me and I would be trying to get my word in. There was also a bit of a lad culture – for example, going to the pub felt excluding when everyone would be talking about football. I also feel that, generally, girls organize the social activities. We will instigate these things and give the team a chance to bond outside of working hours. I feel like all the women at BH are amazing – they really go above and beyond. I notice it, maybe, because we have to fight to get to where we are, but I have met so many inspirational women here who are not afraid to challenge people and stand up for what they believe in. And that has an impact on people of all genders, to see those examples.

Vaishali: I have found that women end up doing the extra 鈥渉ousekeeping鈥� roles. I find myself doing it, too. Maybe it’s just because I’m that type of person and also I am a woman. I think that a lot of the social events are driven by women. It definitely adds to the social life of the office, but it also feels like there鈥檚 this role we鈥檙e put into where we have to do more admin tasks.

Alice: I think it’s one of those things you notice coming in as a grad. I’ll do anything to try and I’d say yes to things and try to prove that I’m a hard worker. That’s why if someone says 鈥渃an you do this or can you help me with this?鈥� I’d say yes. Then, all of a sudden, you鈥檙e doing these other tasks that are admin and organisation tasks, not the technical things that our male counterparts seem to be doing more of. Does that come down to the fact that I feel the need to prove myself more than male colleagues?

Nousheen: I do feel like there is more pressure on us to do things. I wonder if there is more pressure on us to prove ourselves? To prove we were hired because we’re good at what we do and we’re hard workers and not just because we’re women. And that shouldn鈥檛 be the case. Men don’t have to get past that. If I mess up at work, (and maybe it’s just a me thing) I feel like I’m not just letting myself down but letting all women engineers down. It鈥檚 not realistic, but it is in the back of my mind.

Habiba: I would say that you get less of the admin tasks in a small office environment because we are too busy. But I do sometimes feel the added pressure, the constant need to prove one’s self, and how I feel like I鈥檓 representing other women. It鈥檚 a pressure that one doesn鈥檛 really need.

Do you think you would feel less of that pressure if you saw more women in senior positions?

All: Yes.

Nousheen: And not just one woman. I think you see that disparity in gender at more senior levels and it suggests that obviously you do have to do all of this stuff if you want to get to a senior role. Maybe if you saw a lot of women there, maybe there would be less pressure to feel like you have to really outperform the men.

Florence: I think another thing that could relieve the pressure is seeing more men pick up tasks that are not necessarily related to their role as an engineer. And also employ more men as non-technical staff. The issue of not having women in senior roles is an issue with retention.

On that, what do you think makes for a supportive environment where women want to stay? Why do we not have that at the moment?

Nousheen: I think with the construction industry in its current state, being a male-dominated environment, it feels like it can get quite aggressive. Raising voices in meetings and all that. And that is a cultural issue, the culture of a team. I think it could be improved by more discussion or training on how to manage tensions better, and how to communicate more effectively. But I also feel like it could come down to men telling other men that they are being too aggressive.

Florence: If someone shouted at me, I would not shout back. I would probably leave. And I think that鈥檚 the reaction that most women would have.

Nousheen: Exactly, you either walk away or ask people to talk more calmly. And that alone creates a nicer environment than people shouting over each other. A lot of men seem to just accept this kind of aggressive atmosphere. I feel like when I鈥檓 made uncomfortable by such situations, there鈥檚 no one I could discuss it with.

搁茅办补: So the solution could be creating a better network to share these feelings and how to deal with them? But that network would need to have people of all genders involved for it to work.

Vaishali: Even if you鈥檙e not in the conversations that get heated, just sitting on the same floor and hearing them changes the environment. It鈥檚 intimidating. People should call each other out on it as it鈥檚 not appropriate behaviour in a workplace. Based on my experience, it happens way less when there are more women in these conversations.

Alice: There are also small things that make you feel excluded and create less of a supportive environment. I鈥檓 thinking about the number of emails I receive that start with 鈥楬i Gents鈥�. And sometimes the sender would realise and then publicly apologise, calling out that I鈥檓 also on that email 鈥� which again creates a divide. It just highlights that I鈥檓 the only woman in the team. It would be really helpful if stuff like that got called out more. But I sometimes doubt if I should be the one to call it out because my superiors could think I鈥檓 just moaning about the little things.

Florence: What could also address the wider environment is talking more to each other. I don鈥檛 think that in 2022 many male engineers think that the experience at work is still so divided based on your gender.

Vaishali: I agree, people need to be more open to day-to-day conversations and talk about the small changes they could make. And not have those changes forced on them but rather let them realise if they need to improve.

Did you also feel that because of the divide you felt it was harder to make friends with male colleagues?

搁茅办补: I felt, especially when I was new here, that I became fast friends with many women but with men, I felt like there was a line that should not be crossed. That I wouldn鈥檛 be taken as seriously or it would be inappropriate. And it wasn鈥檛 just from my side but felt that from male colleagues.

Florence: Yes, and that’s a shame with guys. I think it鈥檚 a great privilege when you don鈥檛 have to think about that. And I think things like these often get overlooked because in the modern Western world a woman, in theory, can do everything their male counterparts can. But you are still not treated equally. With regards to the friendliness, it definitely helps when there are more girls around to make it easier to settle in.

If you think about what sort of innovations you could bring into the workplace, either cultural or physical, that would attract more women to work in an engineering office, what would those be?

Vaishali: I don’t know if this is innovation, but maybe more transparency in terms of what the baseline is and what we need to be working towards in terms of skills and expectations of ALL engineers. That might remove some of the pressure of having to work twice as hard. Have more conversations on the gender pay gap, and be open if we鈥檙e not where we want to be but are working on that. I think that鈥檚 very inviting for potential employees.

Florence: I think showcasing employees of all genders and making an effort to diversify who is put on our socials. I also feel like women shout about their accomplishments less, so you really have to dig to find out their stories but sharing these could attract more women to the industry. And not just on INWED.

Alice: We also need to check in with each other more, especially after Covid. When everyone is busy at work and you sit next to new people every day because of hot desking, there鈥檚 less acknowledgment of each other. Having more initiatives for people to have casual conversations, and finding times to encourage them to do so could really help.

If there was one last thing you鈥檇 like others in the industry to know, what would that be?

Vaishali: I think it鈥檚 great that we are doing a lot to improve the culture in the industry, but we鈥檙e not doing it quickly enough. It seems like we always talk about how to improve the work environment for women, acknowledge it, and then forget about it. Everyone gets excited for a week and then we鈥檙e back to business as usual. Try not to forget that there are issues women have to face every day and check in with yourself if you are being inclusive enough.

Florence: Check your privileges and see if there is an equal distribution of extracurricular tasks between members of a team.

Nousheen: Even though it鈥檚 us women discussing our experiences, it鈥檚 more important for men to hear about them. We are not sharing these to moan but because we want to work together. We鈥檙e on the same team and we want to make it equally comfortable for everyone.

Alice: It would be beneficial for everyone to do that. It鈥檚 beneficial for our productivity when we don鈥檛 need to think about these and discuss these all the time. There are no downsides to making the workplace more inclusive.