Coinciding with Women in Engineering Day (23 June 2019), Story Contracting have formed a ‘Women in Story’ working group to drive forward the company’s commitment to create an inclusive and diverse business as part of its Every Story strategy.
The group will support females working in Story Contracting, in traditionally male-dominated roles, such as Project Agents, Engineers, site-based roles, Estimators, Plant Fitters and Quantity Surveyors.
The group aims to ensure people are chosen for a job based on merit and strive to identify and remove the barriers women can often face in their careers.
Group member Amy Lister, an Assistant Quantity Surveyor, said: “The construction and rail industry are faced with challenges. GMB (the construction union) recently announced it will take nearly 200 years to achieve gender equality in the construction industry.
“That’s why we’ve committed to advancing the cause of equality in Story Contracting for the generations of women who will be part of the Story family after us.”
The woman behind the group is Emma Porter, Construction Director.
Ahead of the launch Emma said: “This is about making sure everybody is being judged fairly on their merit and what they bring to the table rather than being based on their gender or background.
“It’s not about saying women are better than men or favouritism. But it’s been proven time and again that diverse teams have the potential to outperform homogeneous teams.
Emma added: “Diverse and inclusive workplaces aren’t just good for women, they are good for everyone.”
The group made up of women from across Story Contracting’s five divisions – Rail, Construction, Plant, Story Scotland and Reiver Homes – will meet quarterly to make sure the company’s future is female friendly.
Story Contracting recently won the Investing in People accolade at the Rail Partnership Awards, reflecting the company’s commitment to sustainably grow, retain and attract a diverse group of multi-talented people to the rail industry.
