Scotland – Launch of WR Scotland Regional Group

 

On 23 May Women in Rail launched the Scotland regional group in Scottish Engineering’s offices in West George Street, Glasgow.  A big thank you to everyone who attended and thank you to Scottish Engineering for hosting.  Around 60 guests heard presentations from Angela Constance, MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities and Paul Sheerin, Chief Executive of Scottish Engineering.

 

Led by Shona Jamieson, Head of Marketing and Communications at Babcock International Group, the Women in Rail Scotland group is made up of a vibrant group of men and women from across the rail industry who have joined together to discuss their roles and share ideas and further push the Women in Rail agenda of improving gender balance, diversity and inclusion in UK rail.  A variety of events will be organised for members, which will include networking opportunities, development workshops, high profile speakers and of course some relaxing and fun get-togethers.   It is hoped that over the next year the group will double in size as it showcases the benefits of gender balance, diversity and inclusion to like-minded groups and businesses.

 

Shona said:

“I think we all agree that more needs to be done to celebrate gender diversity in all roles and at all levels to ensure the sector has access to the widest pool of talent and I am thrilled to be leading the Women in Rail group in Scotland.”

Equalities Secretary Angela Constance was really pleased to attend the launch and commented that the Women in Rail Scotland Group will help to ensure that women working in rail are supported and given opportunities to develop their skills and careers, as well as seeking to attract more women into the industry.  She pointed out that the rail industry makes a valuable contribution to Scotland’s economy – contributing up to £670 million per year – and it was therefore vitally important that women are encouraged to see the sector as an inviting and rewarding place to work.

 

Many thanks to the event sponsors, Babcock, QTS Group and COWI for their support and to the Scotland Steering Group for helping to organise.

 

The Women in Rail regional groups, which include the launch of Women in Rail Scotland, are of great importance as the charity looks to bridge the skills gap within the UK rail industry.

 

To find out more about Women in Rail Scotland please email scotland@womeninrail.org or visit the Contact Us page to register your interest in becoming a member.   We look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes

 

The WR Scotland team