The Woman Engineer – Autumn 200412

Arup is a global firm whoprovide engineering design,planning and project man-

agement services in all areas of thebuilt environment.

We provide the engineering andrelated consultancy services neces-sary to every stage of the project,from inception to completion andafter. Formed in 1946, the firmnow has over 700 staff based in 70

offices in 32 countries. Some of ourmore recent projects in the UKinclude the Angel of the North, theCity of Manchester Stadium, TateModern and the Swiss Re building.

Arup also take an active roleencouraging young people intoengineering careers thoughschemes such as our Pre-UniversityTrainee Scheme (which sponsorsstudents through university) and

providing work experience forschool pupils.

For more information on Arupplease log on to: www.arup.com.

ContactIf your employer would be interest-

ed in the benefits of Corporate

Membership, then contact the

Company Members Team for an

information package either via the

WES office or by email to:

claire.rees@btinternet.com

DeborahLazarus“I have worked in Arupfor nearly thirty years (!).I am currently in ArupResearch andDevelopment where I

lead the small team of structural engineerswho provide specialist advice on existing build-ings. This can range from historic buildings tothose only recently completed but wheredefects have been identified, and can coverleaking basements, fire damage and settle-ment problems. The team provides adviceinternally and also undertakes external com-missions, which may include research projects.Within the wider Structures Team I look afterthe structural specifications and technical guid-ance notes which we issue internally.

I am a member of Council at the Institutionof Structural Engineers, and also chairman ofthe IStructE Educational Trust. I am aSupervising Civil Engineer for the ICE trainingscheme and also carry out professional reviewsfor the ICE, so there is quite a strong institu-tional involvement overall.”

CarolineMarklew

“I joined Arup as a Building Services Engineerafter graduating from Cardiff University in1997 with a degree in MechanicalEngineering. I joined without really knowingwhat a Building Services Engineer was and Iwas a little sceptical, as I had always envisagedmyself using my degree to work in the renew-able energy sector and not in sizing pipes andradiators. I was pleasantly surprised however;as I found that the majority of my work wasessentially in researching or designing lowenergy buildings.

I spent my first year with Arup working inLondon in Arup Research & Development, fol-lowed by 18 months with Arup Associates, amultidisciplinary design team which includedarchitects as well as engineers. I then trans-ferred to Arup’s Sheffield office, to be nearerthe Peak District and good mountain bikingterrain, where I have worked on various proj-ects including stadiums, museums, offices andschools, with a number of different architec-tural practices.

Joanne Iddon

“I joined Arup ten yearsago as a structural engi-neer and spent my firstfew years working as a design engineer. Aspart of training for chartership with the ICEand IStructE, I spent some time seconded toTarmac construction (now Carillion) workingon site. My role there was much more projectmanagement orientated and on my return toArup I undertook a secondment to our ProjectManagement Group – and stayed!

I now spend my time managing buildingprojects on behalf of our clients – often basedin their offices. I organise the design and con-struction teams, make sure we don’t over-spend and ensure the team delivers the projecton time. The most interesting part of my job isthe huge number of people I get to work withand the diversity of their backgrounds – fromthe electrician on site to the lawyer sorting outthe contracts. Working in house for differentclients allows you to understand their organi-sations and working cultures and see the dif-ferent ways they use and fund their buildings.However, I still see myself as an engineer atheart and enjoy acting as a mentor for ourgraduates working towards chartered status.”

Corporate Members Profile

Around ten percent of WES members are actuallysponsored by their employers. WES CorporateMembers are not only a vital source of sponsorship

but over the years have also provided council members,speakers for conference and various forms of other supportfor our projects and activities, too numerous to mention.The Society is eternally grateful for all the support wereceive from our Corporate Members, active and passive.Thank you all!In this issue we begin a series of profiles on our

Corporate members, starting with Arup. Arup have sup-ported WES over the years through their corporate mem-bership and donations towards the Lady Finniston awards.Deirdre O’ Neill, a member of council from Arup, spoke to aselection of her colleagues to give us a better idea of whatArup and its WES members do.

WES Members in Arup

Arup projects: Sydney Opera House

(below); City of Manchester Stadium

(top right); Tate Modern (right)

President’s

message

Ihave spent thelast few weeksreading excit-

ing brochures –exotic placesand interestingactivities.

Perhaps Bishop’s Stortford isnot a very exotic location, butthere is a touch of romanceabout the place where NeilKinnoch’s Shadow Cabinetused to hold secret meetingsand the WES conference isalways interesting. Korea iscertainly an exotic location forICWES 13 next year (see page2). And I am also helpingorganise the Women intoComputing conference in themarvellous old Naval Collegeat Greenwich in July 2005.

I do enjoy conferences. Notjust the formal content, whichfor WES and ICWES can bevery varied whilst still beingconstructive, but also the peo-ple. I am looking forward tomeeting some different peo-ple attracted by the alteredpattern of this year’s WESconference, designed inresponse to your feedback.Are you coming? Even if onlyfor the Saturday? Bursaries areavailable if needed.

We can all find some usefultopics in this year’s personaldevelopment theme, whichrange over different interestsand different stages of acareer, but it is hard to sumup the fringe benefits of com-ing to WES conference. Italways offers a great mix oflong-standing and new mem-bers (and some non-mem-bers), older and younger, in all

Continues on page 3

Work on a wind turbine forthe Green Design Challenge..p 8

THE

www.wes.org.uk

Working after serious injury p6 Trustees responsibilities p3 Conference p4

The website for UK ResourceCentre for Women in SET –www.setwomenresource.org.uk

– was launched early last month. TheCentre itself, based at the Universityof Bradford, will be launched onSeptember 16.

The Resource Centre is a significantstep towards progressing the govern-ment’s strategy to increase the partici-pation and progression of women inall SET sectors.

The website aims to provideinformed solutions to employerswhilst at the sametime giving access tomentoring and net-works for women andgirls entering oralready participatingin SET learning orwork. Role modelsand real case studiesshow how womencan achieve worth-while and satisfyingcareers in SET.

At the launch PatLangford, deputydirector and head ofPromoting Science,Engineering and Technology forWomen, at the DTI said:

“There is a strong demand fromemployers for high quality SET edu-cated individuals. We cannot affordto leave women, who make up 50%of the workforce, out of the UK’s SETfuture. The Department of Trade andIndustry sees the new ResourceCentre website as a key channel ofcommunication allowing the Centreto achieve their objective of workingwith SET employers to help themtackle the barriers to recruiting,retaining and progressing women intheir organisations.”

Know your placeJob stereotyping is being targeted by

a joint campaign from the EqualOpportunities Commission and JIVE(Joint Interventions) partners who arerunning the new Resource Centre.Know Your Place has its own dedicat-ed website –www.knowyourplace.org.uk – and a

series of posters and anadvice leaflet informingwomen about the opportuni-ties open to them in informa-tion technology, engineering,construction and plumbing.

The posters highlight thebenefits offered by workingin these industries includingan interesting and varied day,the chance to think creativelyand good rates of pay.

This project is sponsoredby the EU European Social

Fund whichis also sup-porting theEOC’s inves-tigation intogender seg-regation andmodernapprentice-ships. This investiga-tion has shown thatgender stereotypingabout different occu-pations is damagingthis country’s industr-ial competitiveness bycontributing to skillshortages and the

gender pay gap. The most extremeskills shortages are in plumbing andconstruction followed by engineering.Over the past 10 years no significantincrease has taken place in the num-ber of women coming into theseareas – 1 per cent of the constructionworkforce is female and 8 per cent ofengineering.

Volume 17, Number 5 – Autumn 2004WomanEngineer

Conference latest

All the details of the seminars and industrialvisits at the WES Conference at the WhitehallCollege, Bishop’s Stortford on October 1 - 3, seepage 4.

Resource Centre website is up & running

Despite the Chancellor’sSpending Review being badnews for some areas of the

civil service, the outcomes for scienceand innovation are very positive.There is a real commitment to boostthis country’s science and engineeringbase and a recognition of its impor-tance to the economy as well as soci-ety as a whole.

There will be an additional £1 bil-lion funding over the Spending

Review period and over the longerten-year period investment in thepublic science base will increase atleast in line with the rate of growthfor the economy.

There is a new target to increaseUK R&D investment as a proportionof national income from 1.9% cur-rently to 2.5% by 2014.

The government intends to under-take an annual review and biennial

Chancellor’s cash boost forscience and engineering

Continues on page 2

The Woman Engineer – Autumn 20042

Inside this issue...

2 INWES5 My job – Claire Machin

7 Championing equality8 Awards in engineering9 Council Update10 New members10 News11 Your letters11 Members’ news11 Diary12 Profile of a Corporate mem-

ber – Arup

Sue Bird reports on thelatest developments

An important item withwhich to start. The 13thConference of Women

Engineers and Scientists (ICWES13) will be held between SundayAugust 28 and Wednesday August31, 2005 in Seoul, South Korea.The Association of Korean WomenScientists and Engineers (KWSE)have released their first circular,and this can be seen onwww.icwes13.org. There will besome bursaries available from theICWES UK fund. I went to a con-ference in South Korea lastNovember which was very wellorganised by KWSE and was wellsupported, so we are all confidentthat this ICWES will be very suc-cessful.

INWES is moving ahead now,and an executive director has beenappointed. Kitty Didion hasworked as director for AWIS(Association of Women In Science)in USA for 14 years, and so brings

a wealth of experience to INWES.Both Pam Wain and I have metKitty, and are very pleased thatshe is joining us.

I write this two weeks beforegoing to Kenya for an INWESboard meeting, and a conferenceorganised by the African Womenin Science and Engineering(AWSE). During the conference, Ishall be talking at a workshopentitled ‘Experiences with creatingand sustaining Associations ofWomen in Science andEngineering’, basing my present-ation on WES and what I havelearned from it about organis-ations. I am sure this will be of useto some at the conference, but Ialso expect to learn importantthings from the others there.

The first newsletter from INWEShas been produced, and can beseen on the INWES websitewww.inwes.org.

Remember that WES is a mem-ber of INWES, and so all WESmembers are part of this organisa-tion. If you have something tocontribute or would like to discussit further, you can look on thewebsite, or contact me throughWES.

The Women’sEngineering Societyis a charity registered with theCharity Commission No. 1008913and a company limited by guar-antee registered in England No.162096.

All correspondence regardingmembership and the work ofthe Women’s EngineeringSociety (WES) should beaddressed to:

The SecretaryWomen’s Engineering Society22 Old Queen StreetLondon SW1H 9HPTel: 0207 233 1974e-mail: info@wes.org.ukwww.wes.org.uk

The Woman Engineer Editor:Pat Battamse-mail: editor@wes.org.uk

Editorial Board:Ruth Carter, Lorna Chapman,Jacky Crook, Eli Fosbrooke, PetraGodwin, Dianne Patterson,Karen Quigley, Connie Shirley,Natalie Wiseman

The Woman Engineer is pub-lished by the Women’sEngineering Society. It is distrib-uted free of charge to membersof the Society and to selectedprofessional women engineers,scientists and women under-graduates at universities and col-leges.

Subscriptions: the journal isavailable to non WES membersin the UK at a subscription priceof £20.00pa (inc postage). Pleasesend applications for subscrip-tions to WES. Cheques should bemade payable to: Women’sEngineering Society.

Overseas subscriptions: priceby surface mail is £25.00pa.Sterling cheques or bank draftsshould be made payable to:Women’s Engineering Society.All letters and articles for inclu-sion in The Woman Engineershould be sent to the Editor atthe same address.

The views expressed in thisjournal are not necessarilythe views of the Society.

(c) Copyright: The WomanEngineer 2004

Deadline for next issue:15 September 2004

Agovernment policy to put sci-ence and engineering at theheart of this country’s wealth

creation seems almost too good tobe true. Yet that is what theChancellor has promised in his recentSpending Review. And it’s not just a‘pie in the sky’ promise as there isguaranteed extra funding plus annualreviews against specific targets tomeasure progress.

If the seriousness of this intent isdoubted, we just have to look at theprogress of government policy onrecruiting and retaining more womenengineers and scientists. The newWomen’s Resource Centre will beopened next month and its website isalready online. These initiatives, how-ever, may take some time to bearfruit in the shape of a more visiblepresence of women in science andtechnology workplaces.

WES members are already playingan active role in encouraging youngpeople, particularly girls, to consider

a career in engineering as the profileof Claire Machin on page 5 shows.Claire has come to her present job oftrying to persuade young people tostudy engineering via a career as adesign development engineer in theautomotive industry and a life-chang-ing spell in Nigeria. She is particularlykeen on her present role since, as agirl, she was discouraged frombecoming an engineer.

Traumatic life-changing eventswere experienced by two WES mem-bers who suffered disabilities follow-ing serious accidents. How theycoped and how their employersreacted is described on pages 6 and7. In future issues we hope to coverhow other members have coped withlife-change events.

Conference now is only just amonth away. On page 4 all the semi-nars are described. Book now toavoid the disappointment of discover-ing that your chosen seminar(s) arefull.

detailed assessment of progresstowards goals. There are sixbroad ambitions against whichprogress will be judged:

� World-class research at theUK’s strongest centres of excel-lence.

� Greater responsiveness ofthe publicly-funded research baseto the needs of the economy andpublic service.

� Increased business invest-ment in R&D, and increased busi-ness engagement in drawing onthe UK science base for ideas andtalent.

� A strong supply of scientists,engineers and technologists; rec-ommendations include improvedsalaries plus measures to supportscience teaching and to encour-age school and HE students tostudy science.

� Sustainable and financiallyrobust universities.

� Confidence and increasedawareness across UK society inscientific research and its innova-tive applications.

Another area where the gov-ernment recognises that it needsto do better is public engage-ment. A new grants scheme willenable citizens, the science com-munity and policy-makers toengage in dialogue to establishand maintain public confidence inmaking better choices about criti-cal new areas.

The Institute of Physics pointedout that the lack of physics teach-ers may hamper the government’sstrategy as physics is crucial toengineering and other disciplines.

Dr Julia King, chief executive,said: “We support the govern-ment’s vision for British scienceand want to help achieve it. Tothis end, we must create a societyat ease with science, engineeringand technology, and one whichwelcomes scientific research andtechnological development.Education, education, educationlies at the heart of this.”

...Cont from page 1

The Woman Engineer – Autumn 2004 11The Woman Engineer – Autumn 2004

Your letters should be

sent to: The Editor,

The Woman Engineer,

22 Old Queen Street,

London SW1H 9HP or

via e-mail to

editor@wes.org.uk

YOUR

Diary

14 August WES Council at

22 Old Queen St, London

1-3 October WES

Conference at Whitehall

College, Bishops Stortford,

Herts (see p 4)

17 November Daphne

Jackson lecture, IEE, London

Please send all diary

items to editor@wes.org.uk

or post to The Woman

Engineer, 22 Old Queen

Street, London SW1H 9HP.

Deadline for next issue 15

October 2004.

Members’ news

Congratulations to:

Julia King, who has beenappointed as Principal of theFaculty of Engineering at ImperialCollege – a position she will takeup later thisyear.

Julia has beenchief executiveof the Instituteof Physics sinceSeptember2002. Beforejoining theInstitute ofPhysics, sheheld a numberof senior posi-tions at RollsRoyce plc and prior to that spent16 years as an academic researcherand lecturer. Her research interestsinclude the mechanisms of metalfatigue and fracture, and aero-space and marine propulsion.

She is currently chairman of theDefence Science Advisory Councilof the Ministry of Defence, and hasbeen a member of the Council ofthe Engineering and PhysicalSciences Research Council, andserved on the Foresight Panels forMaterials, Marine and Defence and

Aerospace.Julia received a CBE in the 1999

Birthday Honours list for services tomaterials engineering. Her leisureinterests include people, growingorchids, collecting modern prints,gardening and walking.

Sir Richard Sykes,Rector of ImperialCollege, said: “We arevery pleased to haveattracted someone ofJulia’s high calibre.Engineering is a keypart of Imperial, andJulia’s experience andenthusiasm are crucialto build on Imperial’sworld class reputation,and take it forward.”

Imperial’s Faculty ofEngineering is the largest in theUK. It comprises ten departments,with over 1,000 staff, 3,800 stu-dents and a turnover of around£60 million. It is one of four facul-ties within the College.

Sharon Lane on the birth ofher daughter Madeleine on May 2.

The photo shows proud parentsSharon and Chris with Madeleine.

Sharon works as a senior engi-neer for Darchem Engineering inStockton-on-Tees, where she car-

ries out design work on thermalprotection products and co-ordi-nates draughting and designresources. Before joining Darchemshe spent four years on a modernapprenticeship with TeesComponents Limited, a CNCmachining and fabrication com-pany. During this time she studiedpart-time at Teesside Universityand graduated in design engineer-ing last summer.

Whilst she is on maternity leave,Sharon is keeping busy by studyingfor an MBA by distance learningwith the University of Durham.

Sharon has been a WES memberfor six years and hopes to get moreinvolved in WES activities duringher maternity leave.

Dear Editor

I’m currently researching aspects ofwomen in engineering and wouldlike to know if any WES membershave any records or personal recollec-tions of women’s experiences in engi-neering either during the world-warsor immediately post war.

I’m attempting to compare experi-ences of my own mechanical engi-neering apprenticeship (during the1980s) with a historical perspective tosee if things have improved, changedor otherwise.

If any members could spare thetime to write to me about their ownexperiences, I would be very grateful.

Clare Cameron (tel: 0790 - 0550567: email:Clare_Cameron@dunlop-aero-space.com)

Dear Editor

It occurred to me recently that manyWES members will have an oldmobile phone or printer cartridgetucked away in a drawer at home or

at work. What they may not realise isthat their unwanted items can bene-fit the Roy Castle Lung CancerFoundation.

Old mobiles and empty printer car-tridges can be recycled and the pro-ceeds will be used to help fund vitalresearch into the early detection,diagnosis and treatment of lung can-cer as well as providing support forsufferers and their families. With38,000 new cases of lung cancerbeing diagnosed each year and 80%of those diagnosed not survivinglonger than 12 months, lung canceris the biggest cancer killer in the UK.

But that’s not all. Recycling is envi-ronmentally friendly too (mobile-phones and printer cartridges takehundreds of years to biodegrade). Soyou can help the Earth and support avery worthwhile cause too.

For details just call 08712 50 5050, visit our websitewww.recyclingappeal.com/roycastleor simply drop your unwanted itemsin the post to: Roy Castle RecyclingAppeal (EL), 31-37 Etna Road, FalkirkFK2 9EG

Seventeen young womenwere amongst the 52

young scientists on the Headstartcourse at the University of Surreyin July. These young women alsoacted as mentors for the extraday added onto the course when26 Year 10 female students tookpart in the Dragonfly programme.

The Dragonfly day’s theme wasusing engineering to help peopleliving in arefugeecamp. Thegirls usedengineer-ing princi-ples to create shelters, supplyelectricity, and distribute andpurify water supply.

Course leader, Dr NicoleRockliff said: “We wanted toshow that engineering is not onlyabout high-tech devices like satel-lites and 3G mobile phones butat a very basic level it contributesto human survival. This projecthas ‘human factor’ appeal andgives the girls a different perspec-tive on engineering in real life.”

The photo shows Prof MariaPetrou (left) and Nicole (3rd left)with some of the mentors.

Process engineer, RosemaryHarper, has won the UK

Chemical Industry Young Person ofthe Year2004 award.Rosemary,who worksfor SolvayInterox inWarringtonand comesfrom NewZealand, isthe firstaward win-ner fromoutside theUK.

Rosemary now becomes the officialyoung ambassador for the chemicalindustry for the next twelve months.Her key task will be to work with theChemical Industries Association toraise awareness of the contributionthat the chemical industry can bringto local communities, as well as theexciting career opportunities it has tooffer young people. She will also beinvited to chair the chemical indus-try’s Young Persons’ Network.

The award was judged by a panelof industry experts who assessed theability, enthusiasm and leadershipskills of each of the regional finalists.All entrants presented work theyhave done with local communitiesand had to demonstrate an in-depthunderstanding of the issues and chal-lenges faced by the industry world-wide.

An IEE scholarship schemeFUSE (Funding Undergraduates

to Study Engineering) offers assis-tance to undergraduates on IEE-accredited BEng and MEng courses.

Twenty FUSE scholarships, eachwith a value of £1,000 per year forthe duration of the course, will beawarded annually. To encourage stu-dents from all backgrounds into theengineering profession and ensurethe funding of those with high abilitythat require financial help, the schol-arships will also be means tested. Inaddition, students will automaticallyreceive free student IEE membershipfor the duration of their course.

Dr Alf Roberts, IEE chief executive,comments: “It is no secret that thereis a decline in the number of studentsenrolling on engineering courses. TheIEE FUSE Scholarship is addressing the

need for an increased number ofengineers to support UK industry.”

IEE FUSE scholarships will be avail-able for the first time from October2004. Further information is availableon www.iee.org.uk.

JAN WARD, owner of a metal-lurgy company in

Southampton, has been appointed tothe Small Business Council (SBC), anadvisory non-departmental publicbody, which represents the views ofsmall businesses to government.

Jan, a mechanical engineer, startedher owncompany in1992 special-ising in thesupply ofhigh alloys toniche mar-kets in the Middle East. Prior to thisshe had worked for a large US steel-maker and for several medium sizedinternational producers and distribu-tors in the US, Europe and the FarEast. Her company now has offices inthe UK, Saudi Arabia, Iran and UAE.

Jan is Director for InternationalTrade and Membership atSouthampton and Fareham Chamberof Commerce, BusinessRepresentative for SouthamptonPartnership (LSP) and until last yearsat on the DTI’s Export Clubs AdvisoryPanel. She was named InternationalBusinesswomen for 2001 at Womenin Business International Conference.

Promoting equality of opportu-nity and good race relations is

a legal obligation on all “public bod-ies” including higher education insti-tutions under the General Duty ofthe Race Relations Amendment Act.Good Talking – the HE communica-

tors equality and diversity toolkit aimsto help PR and communications staffin higher education institutions topromote equality of opportunity. Thetoolkit has been produced by theEquality Challenge Unit (ECU) for theHigher Education Funding Council forEngland (HEFCE).

The toolkit – a booklet, and an on-line lexicon and collection of casestudies – was written and designedto make it easy to use. The booklet’suse of boxed text, colour, checklistsand tables should help readers tospot easily what they are looking for.

Since preferred terms change overtime, a glossary is included on thewebsite. Readers are invited to con-sult this, comment on it, and theirviews will be fed back into it, keepingit up-to-date and stimulating debate.

The toolkit can be seen atwww.ecu.ac.uk/GoodTalking.Comments and examples of goodpractice for the case studies page canbe sent to comms@ecu.ac.uk.

At midday on August 31 anonline seminar will provide free

advice for engineers on professionalindemnity insurance. Anyone wishingto join the seminar should visitwww.insurancescenta.com.

The Woman Engineer – Autumn 200410

New members

Susan Abraham, London

Joanne Balmer, Solihull

Gulhanim Bayrak, London

Clare Booker, Inverurie

Kim Harvey, Bristol

Vicki Johansen, Cardiff

Trish Marchant, North

Shields

Lingfang Yao,

Loughborough

Associate members

Laura Ducker, Rotheram

Hayley Jones, Barrow-in-

Furness

Student members

Ellin Barklund, London

Frances Baxter, Sheffield

Nic Burton, Barrow-upon-

Soar

Silan Celik, London

Anna Maria Fergus,

Glasgow

Katherine Gregory, Derby

Ellen Grist, Bath

Laura Hall, Edinburgh

Teju Isola, London

Chantal Manço, London

Jodie Miller, Coventry

Edwige Nlassa, London

Charlotte Ratcliffe,

Clitheroe

Feyi Thompson, London

Junior members

Eleanor Heath, London

Upgrade to member

Sharon Lane, Marton-in-

Cleveland

Keep us informed of your

latest news by writing to:

The Woman Engineer,

22 Old Queen Street,

London SW1H 9HP

or via e-mail to

editor@wes.org.uk

TACKLING the gender paygap and creating fair opportu-

nities for women at work are thetargets of the government’s newWomen and Work Commission.

Its tasks will include investigating:� how men’s and women’s educa-tion and skills affect which jobsthey can get;� promotion and career progres-sion – the ‘glass ceiling’;� women’s experiences in the jobmarket before and after havingchildren; and� the different experiences ofwomen working full-time and part-time.The gender pay gap currently

stands at 18% for full-time workersand 40% for part-time workers.

The Women and Work

Commission will be chaired byBaroness Margaret Prosser, currentlychair of the Women’s NationalCommission. As former deputy gen-eral secretary of the GMB union,Margaret has long been campaign-ing for equal pay and opportunitiesfor women.

Full membership of theCommission will be announced inautumn. It will report to the govern-ment within 12 months on what theGovernment can do to reduce thepay gap and give women fair oppor-tunities at work.

The DTI’s Women and EqualityUnit has published an easy to under-stand guide to equal pay and thecauses of the pay gap. It is availableonline atwww.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/

The Woman Engineer – Autumn 2004 3

President’s messageContinued from page 1

types of engi-neering, fromvariousplaces. It isvery enjoy-able to meet

intelligent like-mindedwomen in a setting wherethere is enough time toget to know them.Meeting senior womenwho have achieved somuch is very inspiring.Conference offers plenty ofoccasions, from the lunchqueue to late-night ses-sions in a common room,to ask how other peoplehave tackled the chal-lenges that are facing you.There is the problem ofwhat to wear at the annu-al dinner. Many of uschoose something long,although jeans are alwaysacceptable – but be awarethat some of us have ajoke points system where“from the Oxfam shop” isbest. (Two former presi-dents, Pip Ayton and JackieLongworth, normally putup a strong showing.)

Seoul next year shouldbe a wonderful experience.People from so manycountries and culturesmeeting together to cele-brate achievement and tofurther a cause, whenprogress is so patchy acrossthe world. There is theadded dimension of fur-ther work to build the newinternational organisationINWES. (The WES initials inthe acronym are coinciden-tal, but will remind peoplethat WES played a part instarting both ICWES inthe1960s and INWES inthe last four years.) Thatexciting brochure is also onthe WES website. Do thinkabout making the trip.WES holds some moneyfor “international network-ing” and you can apply fora bursary.

I hope you will be ableto share in one of theseevents. If not, how abouthelping to shape WES con-ference 2005?

Many members may be involvedin helping to run charities orinvolved in running WES itself.Although these activities areundertaken on a voluntary basis,they do bestow on participantslegal responsibilities. This articleexplains what this means.

Anyone who becomes responsi-ble for controlling the man-agement and administration

of a charity becomes a charity trusteeand acquires legal duties and respon-sibilities under the rules of the 1993Charities Act.

Charity trustees cannot be under18; an undischarged bankrupt; some-one convicted of an offence involvingdishonesty or deception; someonepreviously removed from trusteeshipor under a disqualification orderunder the Company DirectorsDisqualification Act. Anyone convict-ed of serious offences against chil-dren is disqualified from trustee-ship of children’s charities.

Charity trustees need to beprepared to take an activerole in running the chari-ty and to give time tothe efficient running ofthe charity. Alsobefore agreeing tobecome a trustee itis important to con-sider whether thereare any likely con-flicts of interests.

Trustees are notusually entitled toreceive any paymentother than reason-able and necessary out-of-pocketexpenses. Neither can they benefitfinancially by:

� taking a lease on the charity’sproperty� borrowing money� making contracts to do businesswith the charity� being an employee of the charity.

If a trustee wishes to become anemployee they must resign theirtrusteeship.

Principles to guidetrustees

The Charity Commission recom-mends the following principles toguide charity trustees in their duties:

� The income and property of acharity must be applied for the pur-poses set out in its governing docu-ment.

� The income must be applied forits purposes within a reasonableperiod unless the trustees have an

explicit power to accumulate it.� Trustees need to bear in mind

that their prime concern is the chari-ty’s interests and they cannot let theirpersonal views or prejudices affecttheir conduct.

� When trustees need to make adecision which affects the personalinterests of a trustee, that personshould not be present at any discus-sion or allowed to vote on the matter

� Trustees need to co-operate withother charities and exchange infor-mation with them in order to avoidduplicating efforts.

� Charities should not use theirresources to do what is already beingdone by the statutory services.

� Trustees are responsible for set-ting the strategic aims, objectives anddirection of the charity. The identifi-cation and management of risk isimportant in helping to ensuresstrategic aims and objectives are

achieved.

Liabilities

If trustees act prudently, lawfully andfollow their governing documentthen any liabilities which they incurcan be paid by the charity. If they actotherwise they may be personallyresponsible for liabilities.

Trustees can insure themselvesfrom the charity’s funds against per-sonal liability whilst administering thecharity if the charity’s assets are insuf-ficient to indemnify them

Financial responsibilities

Trustees are accountable for the sol-vency of the charity and the preserv-ation of its endowments. They mustexercise overall control over financialaffairs. There are legal requirementsfor keeping and independent audit-

ing of accounts and these accountsmust be made available to the public.

If the charity owns land or propertythis must be adequately managedand maintained.

Money not required for immediateexpenditure should be invested.Trustees are free to invest the moneyat their discretion but should takeproper advice upon investment.Common investment funds are set upto handle charity investments andoperate on similar lines to unit trusts,providing a spread of investmentand fund management which smallercharities cannot afford.

Trustees are also responsible forensuring any fund-raising activitiesare properly undertaken and thefunds correctly handled.

Regular review

The Charity Commission stronglyrecommends that trustees shouldregularly review the effectiveness oftheir administration procedures and

objects. Under the 1993 Acttrustees need to seek theCommission’s prior consentto any amendment of the

company’s objects oruse of the company’sproperty. Trusteesseeking to makeamendments arestrongly advised toseek advice from theCommission beforegoing ahead.

If trustees wish towind up a property

this can only be done if the govern-ing document contains a dissolutionprovision. This will normally requireremaining assets to be passed on to asimilar charity. If there is no such pro-vision, the Charity Commission hasthe power to authorise amalgamationwith another charity or charities pro-vided that the trustees are satisfiedthat the charity no longer has a use-ful purpose or that its original pur-pose is fulfilled by other means orthat amalgamation would enablemore effective use of property.

* This article is based on CC3 -

Responsibilities of Charity Trustees,

available for the Charity Commission

www.charitycommission.gov.uk/publicat

ions/cc3.asp.

In a position of trust

4 The Woman Engineer – Autumn 2004

In the last issue we promised further details ofthe seminars which will be taking place at thisyear’s conference on October 2 - 3. When

booking for Conference please indicate your pre-ferred choice of seminars.

Conference kicks off on the afternoon ofFriday October 1 with optional industrial visits.These will be to EADS Astrium, Stevenage (satel-lite and aerospace company); Millbrook ProvingGround, near Bedford (vehicle testing on roadand off) and BAA at Stansted Airport (behind thescenes tour).

If you haven’t registered already, do so now.Booking forms was can be obtained from theWES office or downloaded via our website(www.wes.org.uk/pdf/WES 2004_Conf_App_Form.pdf) or from the centrefold of thelast issue of the Woman Engineer.

Saturday October 2, 14.00 – 15.30Speechwriting by Pat Langford, headof DiverSETy team, Office of Scienceand TechnologyWriting speeches for ministers is part of Pat’swork as a civil servant – and when she getshome, she writes fiction for pleasure. Useful tipsfrom someone who really knows how to getpoints across.

Intellectual Property by Kate Moran

This seminar will outline different forms of intel-lectual property and then go on to discuss howpatents in particular may be used as a businesstool. It will cover the following: patents as abusiness asset (selling and licensing patents);protecting your products/market (patents as adefensive tool); patents as a marketing tool; andpatents as an information resource.

As an ex-engineer, Kate is also willing to dis-cuss the transition from chartered engineer tochartered patent attorney if this is of interest.

Project Management by MichelleRichmond, Ubinetics

This seminar will cover the role of the projectmanager plus key skills and techniques to man-aging the team to achieve success! Delegateswill take part in active planning and setting upstructures to get the best results to deliver proj-ect to time. The mystery of work breakdownstructures, work package descriptions and mile-stones will be explained. Project managementtechniques are the ultimate transferable skill setbetween business sectors and industries.

Business Development Skills by MikeChandler, Chandler Associates

Delegates will gain an understanding of howthey can undertake business development (BD)using a personally developed model. This shouldappeal to those who are uncertain about thisarea of business.

There are many strands to BD, and the param-eters affecting each situation need to be man-aged in detail. There is a need for any personengaging in BD to develop their own person-alised model, honed over time, to ensure effec-

tiveness. We will develop a model in delegates’minds, showing how they could implement BDsuccessfully.

Skills for a Portfolio Career by DianeDavy, Chandler Associates

The seminar aims to develop a skills inventory fora successful portfolio career. Using her own anddelegates’ career experiences Diane will lead adiscussion which will focus on the issues aroundportfolio working, before developing a genericcheck-list of skills and attributes to build a per-sonalised skill base, to facilitate a successful port-folio career.

Sunday October 3, 09.00 – 10.30Dealing with the Media by JuliaHaythorn, JFH Training

In this media-dominated age there is more likeli-hood than ever that you will be called upon topresent your views in the form of a television orradio interview. Whether to offer expert advice,give an opinion or promote your company, it isimportant to be able to perform well. This semi-nar will introduce basic media skills, includingdealing with hostile interviewers, communicatingyour message, getting rid of bad habits anddealing with nerves. There will be an opportunityfor some participants to take part in practiceinterviews.

Writing the “Killer” CV by JulieWinnard, Visteon UK Ltd

This seminar will cover: how to put the mostimportant information in the right place; how tosell your skills; the difference between male andfemale CVs; how you can and should tailor eachCV to the job being applied for; extra areas ofinformation useful to employers; when to do aCV; screening job ads and how to target the“right” job. Useful for internal moves as well asexternal.

Tapping into your Creativity by HillaryTaylor, Zumiya Consulting

This seminar is an interactive and fun investig-ation into a range of creativity and problem-solv-ing techniques. Delegates will be able to try outmind maps, metaphors, storytelling, brainstorm-ing, post-its and more. There’ll be a chance tomap some preferences and thinking styles. And,after all the hard work, there’s a prize for thebest ... Well, that would be telling!

Appointments to Public Bodies by PamWain, WES President

If you want your voice heard, you have to bestanding in the right place when you shout. Thisseminar is about one set of opportunities tomake a real difference. There will be expertadvice about finding the right way to get startedin the world of public appointments.

Brand “You” by Paula Mathews andJenny Mitchell, BBC

A session that gives people the tools to recog-nise, explore and build self-confidence in thepower of their own ‘brand’. The word brand isused to sum up the unique combination of indi-vidual strengths, values and preferences that we

all bring to work. Women often downplay thestrength of their brand, and many women don’thave a sense of themselves as ‘powerful’. Powermight seem like a masculine concept – until youfind confidence in your own power. This sessionintroduces you to the source of your own power.

Sunday October 3, 10.45 – 12.15

Getting Your Message Across by JuliaHaythorn, JFH Training

In a business environment we use our voice allthe time and the importance of doing so effec-tively cannot be underestimated. When we listento someone, less than 10% of our understand-ing is the words they speak, the rest comes fromtheir body language, facial expressions and toneof voice. There is no mystique involved in beingable to make clear and authoritative speeches orcompelling presentations. All the skills necessarycan be learnt and can be improved with practice.The seminar will consist of practical, participativeexercises that will begin to alter and improve theway the delegates communicate to an audience.

Successful Graduate Job Applicationsby Olubunmi Ibidunni

This seminar, based on Olubunmi’s own experi-ences, will be most useful for undergraduatesand graduates who are not sure or have notbeen to interviews. Topics covered will includecompleting application forms; preparing andpractising for interviews;your approach and atti-tude; the impression you make; typical questionsasked and handling difficult situations.

Money for Women by Caroline Ansteeof Destini Fiona Price

An introduction to many different areas of per-sonal finance for women; especially useful forthose considering portfolio careers.

Getting Your Work into Print by PatBattams, independent author and WESJournal Editor

Designed to help people write about their workor any other activities in a lively, understandableand relevant way for possible publication in com-pany magazines, university or college newslet-ters, commercial engineering publications, gener-al interest magazines, local newspapers etc. Theworkshop will cover identifying themes thatwould be of interest to editors, writing in a briefbut lively way, editing your first draft, importanceof including personal experiences – interviewingcolleagues etc and identifying photos for illustra-tion; plus some fun exercises.

Stress Management by SashaGallagher, Hydratight Sweeney Ltd

The stress management seminar will help theaudience to identify potential causes and symp-toms of stress in the workplace and within theirlives. It will look at different ‘categories’ of peo-ple to determine if you are predisposed towardsbecoming easily stressed and provide someguidelines on how to manage stress levels.Audience participation will be encouraged(though not mandatory) and the session will endwith a relaxation technique.

What’s going on at Conference

The Woman Engineer – Autumn 2004 9

Council met on 26 June at 22Old Queen Street. We werejoined by Susan Andrews in

her new role as WES CompanySecretary and by two observers –Betty McCarthy (Conference TeamMember and Essex Cluster Contact)and by Petra Schruth from Shell.

In her Treasurer’s report DorothyHatfield explained that she hadrevised her estimates for income andexpenditure taking into account‘worst-case’ effects of recent changes– WES could make a loss this yearbut there are reserves set aside whichwould cover it.

WES has not yet found a new sec-retary to replace CatherineMacGillivray – the Society hasbeen run entirely by volunteersso WES has saved money onsalaries but volunteer expenseshave risen. SEMTA withdrewsponsorship for the printing ofthe summer journal withoutprior warning giving rise to a billthat had not been anticipated inthe budget.

The job of collecting member-ship subscriptions is nearing comple-tion but it was noted that manymembers, who pay by standing order,are still paying the pre-2002 rates.This is leading to a substantial short-fall in revenue. If you pay your substhrough your bank, please check yourbank statement and make sure youare paying the correct amount (£40for members or £32 for associatemembers and associates). If you arepaying the wrong amount, pleasearrange to pay WES the outstandingamount and send a revised instruc-tion to your bank so that you auto-matically pay the correct amount nextyear. Dorothy agreed to investigatethe option of setting up a direct debitscheme.

Julie Winnard gave a verbal reporton preparations for the conference.She was able to confirm several morespeakers to run seminar sessions andwas hoping to confirm a furtherindustrial visit on the Friday after-noon to Millbrook proving ground.

The conference is shaping up to be areally great event – see page 4 formore in-depth information.

There are at least six bursaries forfree conference places available toany WES member (irrespective ofmembership grade) who would liketo come to conference but cannotafford to finance it themselves. BettyMcCarthy is overseeing the bursaryapplications and has a small team tomake the awards. It was noted thatsome senior members of Council andthe Executive were unwaged andwould be applying for funding to goto conference. Council agreed thatconference places for these people

should be paid out of the core WESexpenses fund so that the bursariescan be set aside for non-Councilmembers.

Vice President Dawn Fitt presenteda report entitled ‘Strategy for theFuture’ concentrating on 4 key areas:Stable Base, Communication,Administration and Finance. Councildiscussed each point in detail.

� ‘Stable Base’ relates to the loca-tion of the WES office – Councilagreed that it was important for WESto remain in central London for net-working purposes since this is whereall the major engineering institutionsare based.

� ‘Communication’ was aimed atimproving the effectiveness of WESto serve members internally and workwith external organisations. Councilagreed that more progress would bemade with projects and Council busi-ness if everyone met more often. Asa result of this, an extra Councilmeeting is being organised for the

middle of August.� ‘Administration’ considered

short term help to ease pressure onvolunteers who have been runningWES in the absence of a paid secre-tary. In the long term, Council willlook carefully at the roles of ChiefExecutive or Secretary General anddecide which is the best way forwardfor WES.

� ‘Finances’ included several issuesthat had already been highlightedand discussed alongside theTreasurer’s report.

I led a discussion about the futureof the Woman Engineer in the lightof the SEMTA withdrawing sponsor-

ship for printing. Councilagreed that the journal shouldcontinue in its present printedformat and WES will fund itfrom core funds unless anothersponsor can be found. Councilgave me free rein to organiseprinting and distribution forthe August journal, allowingme to cut costs where possiblewithout destroying the quality.Council has asked the Editorial

Board to look at further cost-cuttingmeasures for future issues.

Sasha Gallagher gave an updateon the Daphne Jackson lecture whichwill be held on Wednesday 17November at the IEE HQ in London.The speaker will be Dr Claire Davis,senior lecturer, Department ofMaterials Science and Metallurgy atthe University of Birmingham. Sashais working with representatives fromthe Daphne Jackson Trust, the IEEand IoP to organise the event.

In preparation for the AGM, nomi-nations for honorary officers andordinary members of Council for thenext term were discussed. A numberof new Council members arerequired; if you would like to beinvolved in WES projects and in steer-ing WES policy for the future pleaseconsider serving on Council. AnyWES member (irrespective of mem-bership grade) can become a Councilmember, please contact the WESoffice if you are interested.

COUNCILupdateKaren Quigley reports on what happened at the last Council meeting

“Many members whopay by standing order arestill paying the pre-2002rates. This is leading to asubstantial shortfall“

The Woman Engineer – Autumn 2004

AWARDS

inengineering

8

Commending the winners ofthe Shell/Imperial CollegeGreen Design award Industry

Minister Jacqui Smith said: “Today’sGreen Design winners are helping tobring engineering into the 21st cen-

tury and overhaul the antiquatedview that engineering is a man’s job.They are inspiring other youngwomen, and proving that there areno barriers to success – only outdat-

ed views of what women canachieve in the scientific and techno-logical professions. We can no longerafford to ignore such talent.”

The 2004 Green Design Challengewinning team was Catriona Smart

(The High School ofGlasgow), FionaMcAllister (Stirling HighSchool, GemmaMacKintosh (BrechinHigh School) andHanna-Liza Strachan(Mackie Academy,Stonehaven). The run-ners-up were the win-ners of the Irelandregional heats.

At the awards cere-mony at Imperial CollegeLondon, attended byWES president PamWain, the girls wereawarded a prize of a£1,000 week-longEarthwatch expeditionto the Arctic Circle/Czech Republic to studyclimate change and envi-ronmental issues.

The finalists – all winners fromregional heats held earlier this year –spent three days designing andbuilding 1m high wind turbines forresidential use in the UK and then

made a presentation to the judgeson their design. The design and con-struction process uses key engineer-ing tools such as finite elementanalysis and computer-aided design.

Amongst the girls participating inthe Challenge, 67% said that theexperience had motivated them topursue a career in engineering.Currently 10% of UK and Irish engi-neering undergraduates are female.

Dr Ruth Graham, project director,Imperial College said:“We are awarethat there are still some negativeimages of engineering out there,particularly among young women.Events like the Green DesignChallenge can counteract that byshowing the exciting, modern face ofengineering, and especially its role insustainable energy solutions – anarea which our interaction withschools tells us is of particular con-cern to this age group.”

All participants in the Challenge,as well as applicants who were notselected to take part, are eligible forone of twenty £4,000 Green Designscholarships to study engineering atImperial College.

HIGHWAYS DESIGN engineer JoIngle has won first prize inInternational Graduates and StudentsPapers Competition run by theInstitution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

In her winning paper Jo, whoworks in the Design Services Groupat Warwickshire County Council,described her involvement in the ICE’sHenry Palmer Award which chal-lenges engineering students andgraduates to promote civil engineer-ing in creative and practical ways toaudiences in schools, colleges or uni-versities. Together with two fellowgraduates, she launched the ‘I DidThat!’ challenge to four primaryschools in Warwickshire. They intro-duced the concepts of civil engineer-ing to youngsters who thendesigned projects they would likebuilt in their school play areas.Contractors built the winning designat each school, including an ‘airportseating area’ constructed in a dis-used bike shed and a harbour andbridge built round an existing pirateship.

The project was so successful that

teachers’ packs have been producedrelating civil engineering to a varietyof disciplines such as maths, scienceand history. These have been sent toall Warwickshire primary schools.

Jo has recently taken on the role ofICE Midlands’ schools liaison officer.She said: “It’s really important to getthe message across early to young-sters that civil engineering is allaround them and can be fun. They’reall so enthusiastic when they getinvolved in projects and see theirdesigns turn into reality.”

Jo will also have to find time toundertake her distance learning MBAover the next three years.

HELEN BALI, a principalengineer for Hyder Consulting,has won the constructioncategory of the Women OfAchievement Awards organisedby the Plymouth Chamber ofCommerce.

Helen has been the leadengineer over the last fouryears of Hyder’s frameworkcontract for South WestWater’s AMP 3 investment pro-gramme, and was describedby the judges as “a rolemodel for women in engineer-ing construction.”

She first joined HyderConsulting 12 years ago as asandwich year student.

The judges commended hernot only for her careerachievements, but also for hersupport of graduate trainingand charity sporting events.

Wind turbine wins Arctic trip

The Woman Engineer – Autumn 2004 5

What Claire Machin lovesmost about her job is see-ing her students achieve

success and getting her hands dirty.“I love making things! If I am not

teaching and people need to findme, one of the first places they lookis in the workshop,” said Claire.

Claire is curriculum developmentspecialist for engineering atNewcastle-under-Lyme College. Herjob involves increasing awareness ofengineering amongst young peoplein her area through the launch of theGCSE in engineering course andactivities such as engineering clubs,careers evenings and recently a suc-cessful design and technology week.

“The GCSE programme has takenoff massively in the first 3 years,”said Claire. “The first year, 8 studentscompleted it, this year we are look-ing at 21 finishing and 120 startingin September from 8 local schools.These students will have the oppor-tunity to use the college facilities totry everything from welding andturning to simulating electrical cir-cuits and using pick and place robotsto construct printed circuit boards.

“When students first start on thecourse it can be quite intimidating.Once they know what they aredoing, it gives them a whole set ofskills and real confidence.

“For me, it’s about trying to giveyoung people the kind of experiencesI wish that I had when I was young.If they decide they don’t want tocontinue with engineering, that’sfine, but at least they have made aninformed choice.”

Claire’s early predilection for engi-neering was discouraged.

“When I was young I wanted tobe a mechanic and spend my daysfixing cars. I was told that girls didnot do that, so I thought aboutbecoming a librarian!”

After taking an ‘eclectic mix’ of Alevels, Claire had no idea what shewanted to do. She rang Newcastle-under-Lyme College after seeing anadvert for a foundation year in engi-neering and was accepted for this.

“The course was franchised to thecollege from Stafford Universitywhere we attended once a week.Angela Dean ran the course there.She was a fantastic role model, and agreat lecturer,” Claire recalls.

She gained an HND at StaffordUniversity and then a degree in com-puter aided engineering. Her first jobwas as a design development engi-neer for Standard Products, whodesign static and dynamic sealingsystems for the automotive industry.

“It was my dream job but aftertwo years I wanted to do somethingdifferent. Volunteer Services Overseaswas looking for engineers with twoyears’ experience. I applied in June1999 and by September 21 I was inNigeria, where I lectured in FederalPolytechnic Offa (for 9 months) andthen for 2 years at the FederalPolytechnic Bida.

“During my time there I taughttechnical drawing to a class of 80students and fluid mechanics to aclass of 120. It was so rewarding;education is so highly prized the stu-dents try so hard to do well. It is apleasure to teach them. I also did acourse for lecturers in computing,CAD and CNC machining. The Polyhad a broken CNC machine whichno-one really knew how to pro-gramme so I did a bit of that as well.

“My experiences taught me a lotabout myself. Just getting though aday sometimes was an achievement– boiling water when you had elec-tricity, then letting it cool before youfiltered it so you could drink it.”

She recalls finding a scorpion inher shower tray, then walking aroundfor two weeks in Doc Martins, just incase it had been one of a pair.

“Nigeria gave me some of the bestand worst experiences of my life. Iwill always be grateful for the chancethat I had and the people I had thegood fortune to meet. I loved sittingwith the calabash carvers in the oldmarket under the shade of a tree,exchanging greetings with people intheir language and having a go atcarving myself. After Nigeria I feel Iunderstand life a lot better, the world

a lot less, but I know myself which isthe most important thing in life.

“It also inspired me to start a dip-loma course in water engineering.”

Upon returning to the UK, Clairevisited Newcastle-under-Lyme Collegewhere she was asked to do somepart-time work, and a year later wasoffered her present job. It’s not allbeen plain sailing though.

“Trying to juggle a very demand-ing job with a distance-learningcourse in water engineering has alsobeen a challenge. It has not beenunusual for me to work 13-hour daysand if you add 2 hours travelling, itdoes not leave much time for study.”

Claire is hoping to spend less timeon the GCSE project now it is estab-lished and devote more effort todeveloping schools’ links. She alsohopes to get more involved in WESactivities and encourage more girlsonto engineering courses.

“For the coming year only about8% of our students will be female. Ithink we need to target parents asmuch as students – engineering isnot just about spanners and grease,but it can be if you want.”

In her free time this summer Clairewill be camping, doing a scuba div-ing course, and fixing a garage roof.Her other great interests includecooking (making stuff again), swim-ming and she is a keen member ofher college’s model-engineering club.

“The guys there are great,” shesaid. “The time, effort and skill theyput into making models is astound-ing, but so are the results. One ofthem asked if I was interested in acareer in engineering!”

The Woman Engineer – Autumn 2004The Woman Engineer – Autumn 2004The Woman Engineer – Autumn 2004

“Myexper-iencestaughtme a lotaboutmyself.Justgettingthrough aday some-timeswas anachieve-ment”

6 The Woman Engineer – Autumn 20046

Returning to work after ascheduled break, such as mater-nity leave, is hard enough butthe problems are compoundedwhen you are trying to resumeyour career after an accident orillness which has left you with adisability. In addition to needingto catch up after a lengthy peri-od of sick leave, you may needon-going therapy or require fur-ther treatment in hospital andyou may also need adjustmentsto be made to your workingconditions to enable you tocarry out your job.

Legislation in this area, theDisability Discrimination Act, isstill relatively new and often

employers do not understand theirlegal obligations. Despite legislationmost people would expect theiremployer to be reasonably support-ive of their efforts to return to theirjob. However employers’ interpreta-tions of being supportive differ andoften they are ignorant or don’tbother to enquire about theiremployees’ difficulties.

Two WES members who returnedto work after serious accidents havehad very different experiences.Hopefully by telling their stories itwill enable members, who may beunfortunate enough to find them-selves in similar situations, to beaware of what help they should beasking for before returning to work.

Barbara Stephens sufferedsevere injuries when her motorbikecollided with a car in 1990. Herpelvis was fractured in 23 places,her left knee, tibia and fibula werebroken and her left foot crushed.

She spent nearly 12 weeks inBroomfield General Hospital ,Chelmsford where she receivedexcellent medical care and her hus-band was allowed to visit at allhours to help her learn to copewith simple tasks.

Five months after the accidentshe returned to her job as an indus-trial adviser with NEDO (NationalEconomic Development Office). Atthe time she still had an externalfixator in her left leg; was later inplaster for 2 months and was oncrutches for her first 5 months atwork.

“NEDO were wonderful,” saidBarbara. “They allowed me to startworking initially for 2 days(Tue/Thu), then 3 days(Mon/Wed/Fri), then 4 days. It wasa year after my accident before Iwas able to return to work full-time.

“There was an understandingthat if I ever became too tired atwork I could go home.

“Commuting into London con-tributed to my tiredness. Before Ireturned to work I tried to under-take the journey by train and tubebut could not manage the tube. Itold them this and they agreed topay for a taxi from the station.”

Teresa Schofield was a frontseat passenger in a colleague’scompany car when it was involvedin an accident in July 1999. Shesuffered near fatal injuries – herpelvis was smashed and she hadserious internal damage resulting inremoval of her spleen and her lungscollapsing. She also suffered headinjuries which caused damage tothe frontal lobe and left side of her

brain but this was not diagnoseduntil later. Whilst in hospital shecontracted MRSA as a result ofwhich her wounds did not heal andfractures failed to mend.

Nine months before the accidentshe had left her job at Motorola,where she was European sourcingspecialist dealing with suppliers ofelectronic car components, to workfor an employer-linked organis-ation. She disliked the long hoursculture at Motorola and hadaccepted a better paid job whenthe offer came to set up a researchcentre at Cranfield and at the sametime study for a PhD. Her job titlewas higher education manager andher job involves getting universitiesand industry together to developcourses.

When she returned to work 5months after accident, her braininjuries had not been diagnosedand pelvis had not mended.

“I was suffering pain and mentaldifficulties. I found it difficult toplan and organise things. Whenwriting a report I could collate theinformation but could not visualiseits structure. I got the impression Iwas regarded as a neuroticfemale.”

After her brain injury was diag-nosed, Teresa had a further 3

months off, then needed two fur-ther 3 month periods to implantand remove a plate from her pelvis.She still needs therapy and isundergoing a Headway course tolearn coping strategies for braininjury. Her continuing medical treat-ment means that she has beenunable to progress her career.

“It’s challenging – I have lostprompts/triggers to rememberthings, but things tend to come tome as I am talking,” she said.“Most people meeting me for thefirst time would not know thatthere is anything wrong with me.”

Her employer paid her full salarywhile she was off and overlookedwhen she needed to take days offbut otherwise expected her to carryon as normal. This was despitecountless letters from her consult-ant saying that adjustments neededto be made to the job that she did,that she needed to work part-timeand needed admin support. At onepoint they claimed to have come upwith a new job with a new manag-er but it soon became clear that thenew manager didn’t want her to dothe job she expected to do.

“They just left me to get on withit. They know that I am competentbut I would have so welcomed theoccasional word of encouragement

Since December 1996 it hasbeen illegal for an employerwith more than 15 employ-

ees to treat an employee orpotential employee lessfavourably because of their dis-abilities. Employers are requiredto make ‘reasonable adjustments’if they have a disabled employeeor a disabled person applies for ajob. Reasonable adjustmentscould cover changes to premisesor equipment, reallocation ofsome duties or the ability towork flexible hours. This alsoapplies if an employee hasbecome disabled and needsadjustments to allow them toreturn to work.

From October this year the lawextends these provisions to coverorganisations with less than 15employees.

Also from October providers ofpublic services will be required tomake ‘reasonable adjustments’ toremove barriers preventing thosewith disabilities accessing their

services. This will include makingpremises open to the publicaccessible to all disabled people.

Further changes to the DDAare now being proposed by thegovernment (see article in box).

A recent ruling from the Courtof Appeal suggests that disabledemployees may be entitled to fullpay for any sickness absencerelated to their disability.

Nottinghamshire CountyCouncil had reduced the sick payof a teacher suffering from adegenerative eye condition tohalf pay after a specified period,in accordance with its normalsick pay policy. The Court’s rulingwas that if the teacher had notbeen disabled, she would havebeen working and would nothave suffered any reduction inpay. Therefore, the Council hadtreated her less favourably on thegrounds of her disability andfailed to make reasonable adjust-ments to its pay policy in light ofthe disability.

What the law saysAfter-mathof anaccident

What help isavailableUNDER THE government’sAccess to Work scheme, finan-cial support can be provided toassist those with disabilities tocarry out their jobs. Thisincludes:

� help with specific aids orequipment

� help with adaptations topremises or equipment

� services of a supportworker

� additional travel costs ifunable to use public trans-port.

More information from:www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk orwww.disability.gov.uk.

77The Woman Engineer – Autumn 2004

or support,” she saidTeresa had the added difficulty

that she was suing her employer fordamages as the accident was in acompany car. This became quiteacrimonious and eventually settledout of court – for a lesser sum thanthe court would have awarded –because she didn’t want to have toface them in court. She is verygrateful for the support of WESmembers who had agreed to speakon her behalf in court.

“In early May I sent my manageran email saying that I wanted toput all this behind me. It took him2 months to open it,” she said.

“I’m tired of pushing myself tothe point of exhaustion hoping thatthey will co-operate. I have tried tolay my difficulties before them andget them to understand that I needto work part-time. At the momentall I can cope with is my job. I haveto go to bed when I get home; I’veno time for family or friends.”

The message Teresa would like toconvey to employers is: “Being tol-erant is not the same as being sup-portive. 90% of working disabledpeople were not born disabled.Employers have to be willing toadapt to allow people to developtheir full potential whatever theirdifficulties.”

Barbara Stephens’ experiences ofa job change were very positive.

“In 1993 I moved to Cumbria toa new job as chief executive of asmall economic developmentagency,” she said. “At the time Iwas still quite frail and walking witha stick. My new employer madeadjustments to suit my needs – Iwas provided with an automatic carand a reserved place in the carpark; also adjustments were madeto the ladies’ toilets.”

In 1995 and 2003 she neededfurther surgery. In 1998 moved to anew job in London and now com-mutes from Cumbria on a weeklybasis.

She believes that she has beenwell treated partly because she hasalways been very articulate aboutwhat she wants. She has convincedemployers that she can do the joband then tells them what her needsare.

Many people that she advises arereluctant to talk to their employersabout their disability or their needs.

“I tell them to calmly articulatewhat their needs are. It’s all aboutcommunication.

“Employers are often nervoustalking to employees about their

disabilities because they fear thatthey might cause them offence.Then they tend to make assump-tions about what they can andcan’t do without having discussedit.

“Staff working for you may alsohave concerns. Encourage them to

ask you if they are worried aboutwhat you can and can’t do.

“My advice to those returning towork with a disability is: do com-municate, try not to get upset anddon’t try to hide it.”* Barbara and Teresa would be

happy to advise any WES members

who are experiencing problems

because of a disability.

For a free DVD on disability aware-

ness covering the needs of disabled

students and the new DDA require-

ments see

www.trainingzone.co.uk/item/128654/

680/608/626.

DEBBIE REES, a civil service unionrep who advises and supportsunion members experiencing dis-crimination and harassmentbecause of their sexual orient-ation, and Nola Ishmael, a nursemanager who has helped blackand ethnic minority nurses tobreak through the glass ceiling,are this year’s joint winners of theWainwright Trust’s ‘BreakthroughAward’.

The Wainwright Trust is an edu-cational research charity whichcommemorates and continues thework of David Wainwright, a pio-neer in the field of workplaceequal opportunities.

The two awards – cheques for£1,000 plus specially-commis-sioned trophies from sculptor andjeweller Andrew Logan – werepresented by broadcaster JenniMurray at a reception at theRoyal College of Physicians inLondon on 15 June.

Debbie Rees joined the LandRegistry in 2001 and became PCS(Public & Commercial ServicesUnion) representative for lesbian,gay, bisexual and transgendermembers across Wales. The fol-lowing year she obtained the sup-port of the Welsh Trade UnionCongress who agreed to financeand publicise a helpline which

Debbie organised and runs. Thehelpline, available seven days aweek, can be used by any tradeunionist in Wales.

Nola Ishmael has over the pastten years helped black and ethnicminority nurses to advance in theNational Health Service.

She summarises her contribu-tion as “giving them the confi-dence to apply for more seniorjobs”. As Nursing Officer at theDepartment of Health, she starteda rigorous mentoring and workshadowing programme, underwhich nurses spent time with herto see how policies were devel-oped and implemented and evenattended ministerial meetingswith her.

Nola’s other initiatives haveincluded giving new life to theMary Seacole Leadership Awards,designed to support black andminority ethnic nurses, midwivesand health visitors in achievingtheir potential; and the setting upof networks, most recently anumbrella organisation – theConfederation of Black and EthnicNurses – to which the associationsfor nurses from different parts ofthe Caribbean and Africa are affil-iated.

For further information seewww.wainwrighttrust.org.uk.

Championing equality

Legislation could be in force by2006 which further extendsthe rights of disabled people

to fair treatment. The majority ofrecommendations made duringpre-legislative scrutiny of the draftDisability Discrimination Bill will beaccepted, according to govern-ment minister Andrew Smith.

These include:

� a positive duty on public bod-ies to promote equality of oppor-tunity for disabled people,

� extending the DisabilityDiscrimination Act (DDA) to

cover almost all activities of thepublic sector, including suchfunctions as issuing licences.

� bringing within the scope ofthe DDA more people diagnosedwith the progressive conditionsof HIV, MS and cancer andremoving ‘clinically well recog-nised’ from the definition inrespect of mental illnesses.

� ending the exemption of theuse of transport vehicles fromthe DDA duties on serviceproviders,

� ensuring reciprocity with otherEU states when it comes to the

Blue Badge Parking scheme,

� ensuring that when rentingproperty disabled people areentitled to have landlords makereasonable adjustments,

� bringing larger private mem-bers’ clubs within the scope ofthe DDA: to cover members aswell as guests,

� giving disabled local council-lors rights not to be discriminat-ed against by their local authori-ty including rights to reasonableadjustments,

� providing a formal mechanismfor disabled people to ask ques-tions of service providers andothers who they believe havediscriminated against them.

Proposed new legislation