Opinion

Just be yourself says Atkins' Alison Jones

Alison Jones, associate, Atkins

Ahead of National Women in Engineering Day Alison Jones of Atkins gives her thoughts on a career as a woman in a male-dominated profession

I joined Atkins in January 2008 after an eight year career break as a full time mum.  Previously I worked for London Underground, where I started as a Graduate Trainee in 1987. 

I was recently asked to be Keynote Speaker at a GCSE prize-giving at the girls’ Grammar School where I’m a parent governor.  I was asked to speak to a largely female audience about my thoughts on “a career in a male dominated profession”. 

Here are three brief excerpts from the speech which may be of interest particularly to younger female colleagues:

Seek a mentor and be a mentor

In my working life I have never had a female mentor or “role model”.  During my whole career there have simply never been any women engineers even just a few years ahead of me that could have mentored me. 

"A male colleague recently said to me “there is no longer any sexism in engineering”. We will all have different opinions on that, but I’m pretty sure we’re not quite at that place yet in the world,"

Importantly, I should add that I have never particularly felt I needed a mentor, nor even really thought about it until the last few years when I have had the pleasure and privilege of being a mentor to some of my younger female colleagues. 

I now think back to various times in my career where I would have really valued having another more senior female colleague to talk to.  

Our profession is very much still a man’s world, especially the more senior you become, and I do think it’s important to support other women where that opportunity exists. 

Have the courage to speak up

A male colleague recently said to me “there is no longer any sexism in engineering”. We will all have different opinions on that, but I’m pretty sure we’re not quite at that place yet in the world, though admittedly it’s a very different workplace now to what it was 25 years ago.  

However, there are still people out there that think women really are not suited to traditional male careers.  Sometimes there’s a belief that women can’t work well with men (think of the recent storm over Nobel prize winning scientist Sir Tim Hunt’s comments) and sometimes people still hold the assumption that women are less capable than men of thinking mathematically or of having good spatial awareness.

Alison Jones is an associate structural engineer in the design and engineering division of Atkins. Her viewpoint can also be read in Atkins Angles.

Sometimes you have to find the courage to speak up.  If something is offensive, sexist or derogatory to you, then speak out in a polite, professional way.  It is quite possible that it was meant “as a joke”.  Maybe it is funny but maybe it’s insulting. 

That’s your call, but you do have every right to speak out.  Personally I have found that having a sense of humour nearly always diffuses these sorts of situations, but there have been times in my earlier career where I wish I’d had the courage to speak up.

Be yourself

I cannot stress this enough!  I spent many years of my early career on constructions sites, and was usually the only woman around.  I am not someone who shouts or swears and I made a conscious decision not to become so, just because I was working on sites where there was generally a lot of such behaviour. 

If you are someone who does behave like this naturally then go ahead and join in – that’s fine - but if you’re not then stick to your guns and be yourself.  Do not try and become the sort of person you think others will take more notice of. 

There are other ways of getting noticed and indeed of progressing in your career that do not involve shouting or thumping a meeting table. 

Be confident and competent but always be yourself.

 

Alison Jones is an associate structural engineer in the design and engineering division of Atkins. Her viewpoint can also be read in Atkins Angles.