We will start by saying Happy International Women's Day from us all at QEF!
We are celebrating the day by sharing some words from women in our organisation who work in predominately male sectors, who would love to see more women in their fields of work.
Victoria Pooley is an Architectural Technician for the Capital Development team with QEF and has worked with Gateshead Health for 16 years.
Victoria's role involved carrying out the architectural designs and project management of the capital work across all the Trusts sites. Over the years she has been involved in many projects and feels it is a pleasure to be part of the developments and improvements that are constantly being made to the hospital estate. "There are some really exciting projects happening at the moment like the new Community Diagnostic Centre at the Metrocentre. There aren't many women in my field of work, hopefully we will start to se more women taking on these roles." - Victoria Pooley.
Kathryn Johnson is a Senior Medical Engineer and has worked with the medical engineering team since 2004.
Kathryn's role entails servicing and repairing medical equipment as well as participating in general problem solving for the hospital. Kathryn really enjoys her role, crediting her happiness to a great team and a new department. "I’d say to any women who are considering a job in engineering just try it, if you are interested in science and maths don’t forget engineering because there’s many different types. Don’t be put off because it's male dominated I’ve found it to be a welcoming and rewarding career and would love to see more women in these roles.” - Kathryn Johnson
Jade Betts is a Security and Facilities Officer with QE Facilities who joined us during lockdown.
Jade had worked in the hospitality sector for 17 years but during lockdown decided to seek out more stable employment. She was delighted to get the role however questioned how prepared she was for the role, experiencing some challenging scenarios. As time passed Jades confidence grew as she realised the nature of the role, which is not just physical but requires simply talking to people and understanding their problems. ' I will never say it's easy to work in a typically male-dominated role, and in fact it can be far from it. But teamwork and looking after each other are crucial in overcoming challenges and that is exactly how I've found our security team operates here. If I can inspire a few women along the way by sharing my journey and help reassure them that why can grown and thrive within a traditionally male role during my time here, I'll be delighted." - Jade betts
We are excited to see more and more women entering traditionally male roles and hope that our employees accounts will inspire more women to work within the Estates and Facilities sector, especially in roles considered more male dominated. As you can see there are women all ready paving the way waiting for you to join them. #Inspireinclusion #IWD