Women in Railway Careers

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From a UK^▸ (United Kingdom) Government press release:

Baroness Kramer speaks at Women in Rail conference

Baroness Kramer has outlined the importance of encouraging women to take up careers in the rail industry at the Women in Rail conference.



Baroness Kramer gave the keynote speech at the Women in Rail conference in Derby on Wednesday (14 May 2014).

More than 50 men and women from across the rail and engineering industries heard the minister talk about the importance of encouraging more women to take up careers in the industry, and the huge amount of opportunities being created as a result of government investment in rail.

Currently, fewer than 20% of people working in the rail sector are women, while only 4.4% of the sector^s engineering workforce is female.

Baroness Kramer said: "We need the rail industry to encourage more women to come on board and make the most of the opportunities on offer. The Women in Rail group has done a great job in raising awareness of careers in rail, and I am determined to help them break down the barriers that prevent women from joining the industry. It is an incredibly exciting time to work in rail, especially as we are currently investing in the biggest programme of rail modernisation since Victorian times."

Women in Rail was founded in April 2012 to provide networking opportunities and support for all women in the rail sector. It aims to promote rail as an attractive career choice and encourage more young people to consider a career in the sector, in order to develop a more diverse and skilled workforce.

[grahame]

We do indeed need to remove barriers where they exist.   In terms of encouragement to the extent of positive discrimination, I'm not so sure.

I've been out and about quite a bit on the TransWilts in very recent times.  We have some excellent lady conductors ... just as we have some excellent gentleman conductors (and these days there are very few who are  anything short of excellent).   We have some excellent male drivers ... and we have some excellent female drivers.  From my place in the passenger compartment, I can't tell who's driving or which gender they are. 

[bobm]

I have to agree. I spent today on the TransWilts and was pleased to note we had a trainee driver, who happened to be lady, who I know used to be a West Country train manager. I was pleased to note that, after not
seeing her for a while, that she was still on the railway, but more so the fact that she was progressing her career and obviously being judged on her merits not her gender.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hmm.  Female train drivers are still something of a minority - but they do make their mark.

Without wishing to dwell on the tragic circumstances of her death (which were unrelated to the railway), I'd like to remind you all of train driver Alison Langton.

See http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=3836.0

 

[thetrout]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/rachie-owen-youngest-female-train-1519148

[stebbo]

As an interesting aside there are quite a few women flying commercial airliners these days. Indeed, back in around 2000 (can't remember the exact year) I flew on GO (now part of EasyJet) from Bristol to Barcelona and we had a 100% female crew - captain, first officer and cabin attendants.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From Crossrail Project:

It's National Women in Engineering Day. We are encouraging more women engineers into the construction industry

[grahame]

From the Liverpool Echo

A Liverpool woman and her dad have became the first father-daughter train drivers for Avanti West Coast main line.

The trainee driver, Chloe McKinlay, is now hoping her experience on the railway will encourage other women to pursue a similar career path.

[Article Continues]

and from the South Wales Argus

THE first female train driver instructor with Transport for Wales and a former RAF^▸ (Royal Air Force) engineer who is shaping the future of Wales' rail services are among those being celebrated as part of International Women's Day.

Transport for Wales (TFW) is applauding some of its female employees as part of today's annual celebration of the achievements of women across the globe.