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Call me an engineer Community UtILItY WEEK | 6th - 12th March 2015 | 29 #notjustforboys In the run-up to International Women's Day, Energy and Utility Skills has escalated its support for the Department of Work and Pension's #notjustforboys cam- paign, which supports informed and unbiased career decision- making for girls. "Energy and utility sectors offer a host of opportunity. We must continue to subvert stereo- types about engineering and industrial jobs being more suited to men," says Emma Wilcox, programme director, energy and efficiency industrial partnership, at EU Skills. G wen Parry-Jones OBE, safety & assurance direc- tor, is one of EDF Ener- gy's best examples of a woman making a huge difference to the energy sector. Parry-Jones was recently awarded an OBE for services to science and technology for her tireless work inside and outside our business to promote the ben- efits of science and engineering, encouraging young women, from school to university, to take an interest in our industry sector. Her efforts will bear fruit for gen- erations to come, where we can expect to see more women in sen- ior science and engineering roles. This award is particularly sig- nificant because it demonstrates the value of gender diversity in the success of our company. EDF Energy prides itself on creat- ing an environment where all of our people genuinely have the opportunity to excel and be at their best, knowing their unique contribution will be valued. Parry-Jones supports and has contributed to the government insight report on building the pipeline of female leaders across the energy industry produced by Powerful Women along with co- founder Baroness Verma, energy minister at the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Along with senior women like Parry-Jones, women at all levels are making a difference in encouraging girls to enter the sci- ences. Take the example of EDF Energy community liaison officer Niki Rousseau, who is based at Sizewell B nuclear power sta- tion near Leiston in Suffolk. She works closely with local schools to mentor and encourage stu- dents to take Stem (science tech- nology engineering and maths) subjects. Rousseau is also a member of the Women's Network Steering Committee and works with the future capabilities and early careers team at EDF Energy to build relationships with diver- sity networks in schools, col- leges and universities. Fiona Jackson, head of strate- gic resourcing and employer branding, EDF Energy Fiona Jackson acknowledges the work done by women to promote careers in engineering and energy to other women in the UK. What is international Women's Day? Role models in utilities Two to watch In 2014, two women currently working in UK utilities made it onto Cranfield University's 100 Women to Watch list. International Women's Day is celebrated every year on 8 March. The day provides a moment to recognise the economic, political and social contribution of women around the world and to highlight remaining areas of inequality. The first International Women's Day was held in 1911 and it is now marked by thousands of events around the world. This year the theme is #Makeithappen. Find out more at www.internationalwomensday.com Sue Amies-King: Amies-King is business retail director for United Utilities and is part of its senior executive team, having joined in 2012. She has previously held senior roles in customer service, strategy and marketing at Aviva, the UK's largest insurer. Prior to joining Aviva, Sue worked for York- shire Electricity, where she led the retail sales marketing function. Juliet Davenport, OBE: Davenport is at the helm of Good Energy as its chief executive and has become an influen- tial industry figure. She sits on industry regula- tor Ofgem's Environ- mental Advisory group and has won numerous accolades for her work in the renewable energy sector and as an entre- preneur. Previously, she worked at the European Commission on Euro- pean energy policy and later at the European Parliament on carbon taxation. lise meitner One of the greatest female contri- butions to the energy sector was made by Lise Meitner, a Jewish austrian physicist (1878-1968) who fled Nazi Germany in 1938. Meitner dedicated her life to the study of radioactivity. Working with Otto hahn to uncover the potential of nuclear fission, it was Meitner who first calculated the energy released by the process. She was overlooked by the Nobel Prize committee, which recognised hahn in 1944, but remained active in her research into her 80s. Bl ast from the past