LONDON — (BUSINESS WIRE) — June 23, 2014 — CH2M HILL is delighted to be supporting the inaugural National Women in Engineering Day today, 23 June 2014, to celebrate the achievements of women in engineering and raise the profile of careers in the sector.
To mark this important day, CH2M HILL held a roundtable debate at its London office in Hammersmith on the role of women in engineering and how to address the gender gap in the industry. Local Member of Parliament, Andy Slaughter MP, guest chaired the session and steered the conversation on what the industry can do to attract more young people, in particular women, into engineering. Recommendations from junior and senior engineers concluded that the industry needs to work more closely with government and educators to highlight the opportunities to be involved in major engineering projects in the UK.
Over the coming weeks CH2M HILL is also hosting a variety of events in schools across the country to engage directly with young women to highlight the benefits of studying STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) and pursuing careers in this sector. The first of these events took place today, with CH2M HILL colleagues from the firm’s Glasgow office speaking to students from St Roch’s Secondary School before carrying out a group engineering challenge to build a bridge from spaghetti and marshmallows.
Employee-owned CH2M HILL has worked for a long time to champion women in engineering through its STEM programmes in schools, apprenticeships and Women’s Network. In 2009 CH2M HILL was the first engineering and construction company to win the Catalyst Award, honouring innovative organisational approaches that advance women in the workplace.
Commenting on the National Women in Engineering Day, Steph Gee, Chair of the CH2M HILL Women’s Network, said: “We are proud to be supporting the inaugural National Women in Engineering Day today. As one of the few engineering companies with a woman CEO, we are passionate about promoting more women into leadership positions in the industry.
“With women making up just six per cent of the UK engineering workforce there is a lot of work which needs to be done to address this. The roundtable discussion we held at our offices today highlights how the industry needs to work more collaboratively with government and the education systems to get more women into engineering.”
Member of Parliament for Hammersmith, Andy Slaughter MP, said: “I was pleased to take part in CH2M HILL’s roundtable discussion today to mark the first National Women in Engineering Day. There is a clear need for more engineers in the UK to build our future infrastructure, the challenge now is how to encourage more young people, especially women, to take up careers in this sector. CH2M HILL is doing a great job in promoting more women into the industry, however to create a real improvement we need to join up industry, government and educators to fill these jobs and ensure we nurture this talent.”
Notes to Editor:
1. CH2M HILL takes a leading approach to women in engineering and STEM through its apprenticeship programme.
2. In May 2014 CH2M HILL was one of the supporting businesses at the launch of the government’s ‘Your Life’ campaign aimed at promoting women to take on more STEM subjects in order to pursue careers in the engineering and technology sector.
3. As part of its Community Investment Programme, CH2M HILL has been working with communities across the UK since 2011 to help host skills and employment fairs. These fairs help young people and the long term unemployed gain the rights skills and techniques to make the necessary first steps into the world of work.
4. CH2M HILL has a dedicated Women's Network which provides the opportunity for colleagues to share information, ideas, experiences, and resources. The Network aims to promote an inclusive culture that actively promotes and supports the attraction, development, and retention of women; values the diversity that women bring to the table; and fuels our industry-leading position as one of the best places to work.
5. In 2009 CH2M HILL was the first engineering and construction company to win the Catalyst Award, honouring innovative organisational approaches that advance women in the workplace. The company received the award in 2009 as a one-time recognition of achievement. Also in that year, the company won the top employer in 'Woman Engineer Magazine'.
6. CH2M HILL started 'Constructing Pathways for Women Through Inclusion' - an initiative that leverages female employees by ensuring they are placed in important positions, are visible role models, and are responsible for high-profile projects, linking their expertise to business success.
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Employee-owned CH2M HILL is one of the world’s leading consulting, design, design-build, operations, and programme management companies serving government, civil, industrial and energy clients, employing over 30,000 people worldwide. Our work is concentrated in the areas of water, transportation, environmental, energy, facilities and resources.
CH2M HILL has operated in the UK for over 20 years and acquired Halcrow in 2011. Its European headquarters are in London and it employs over 3,400 people in the UK. CH2M HILL is working on some of the most iconic infrastructure programmes including High Speed 2, Thames Tideway Tunnels, the decommissioning of Dounreay and was one of the leading partners in CLM, Delivery Partner to the ODA for the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games.
CH2M HILL is an active member of Business in the Community and the Employee Ownership Association.
Visit us at ch2mhill.com, twitter.com/ch2mhill and facebook.com/ch2mhill
