March 8th is International Women’s Day. A key global day that not only celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, but also raises awareness of the issues still faced by women when it comes to equality.
This year, the campaign is focused around #ChooseToChallenge. A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change. We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world. From challenge comes change, so let’s all choose to challenge.
Here at Enjoy-Work, we are very proud of all the successful women that we have as part of our team. Meet Louise, our Guest Engineering Solutions Manager here at Chiswick Park as we discuss her path and experience working in a historically male-dominated industry.
How long have you worked at Chiswick Park?
Coming up to 5 years.
How did you get into the role?
I completed a degree in Music Industry Management & Live Production – which is basically business management and live events – not much to do with what I do now…
I left my old job in hospitality and temped for a facilities management company in London before going travelling – when I came back to London, I used that experience to get the assistant contract manager role with Jones FM and Chiswick Park. I did that for just under a year before the Guest Engineering Solutions Manager left the business – I applied for the role and was successful!
What’s the best part of your job?
There is nothing like completing a project successfully – whether that is painting the last wall of an annual fabric plan, celebrating with the team after a brilliant fireworks night or installing the last Cycle Hub cage.
I have a huge sense of pride when I walk around Chiswick Park and see all the bits and pieces my team have put together, watching them work hard together and always smiling.
What are the biggest challenges?
The biggest challenge is definitely balancing priorities – a lot of what my team do is behind the scenes, keeping the buildings and estate running for our Guests. We still need to ensure the visible areas are great too, so balancing our time between the two is probably the hardest thing that we do.
How do you feel about working in a male-dominated industry like engineering?
To be honest, the thought of it turned out to be a lot worse than what it’s actually like. As a women, you do still come up against people who assume that you don’t know what you’re talking about, but it is few and far between (and easy to prove them wrong!). I have been lucky with both Jones FM and Chiswick Park Enjoy-Work, in that they appreciate hard work and results and I have always been encouraged to achieve.
What would you say to any women looking at studying or going into engineering?
Nothing should hold you back from doing it – it is an incredibly rewarding field and from my experience, one of the only ones where you genuinely learn something new every day.
Find out more about International Women’s Day here.
