International Women's Day: 8 March 2022
Gateshead Council joins the global celebration of International Women's Day, Celebrating women's achievement and joins the conversation to raise awareness against bias.
This year we've had conversations with women who work in roles across the council which break the bias.
Christine - Site manager
I was previously a Resident Liaison Officer and worked on site closely with the Site Manager for almost 15 years and during this time I gained a good knowledge of the role of a Site Manager. This gave me the incentive to peruse the role myself. I thoroughly enjoy this position and get a lot of job satisfaction. I am supported from the people I work with and there is always additional advise when required.
When I gained the position of Site Manager I was overwhelmed by the amount of people who congratulated me and offered me their support. There is a good support structure for help or advise when needed and I have learned a great deal during this time.
It was not plain sailing in my pursuit of a Site Manager position as it is generally perceived to be a "Male Role" there were some negative opinions from people yet others who supported me. I was told as I didn't have a Trade a position would not be tenable, I don't fully accept that point of view as I had at the time worked on site for 15 years and gained a lot of experience. It's my belief that in all roles people have strengths and weaknesses and I was determined my strengths were enough to get me into this position and that I was intelligent enough to quickly learn my weak areas. This is an ongoing process which will never end. As a woman I am proud break the bias as a Site Manager albeit in this male orientated industry.
Belinda Humphrey - Energy Operations Team Leader
Following the birth of my daughter I had a career change and worked for a banks call centre in various roles, and then I made the move in to local government delivering energy efficiency projects and supporting those in fuel poverty. Through the support of the local authority I completed energy qualifications through the NEA, completed a level 5 apprenticeship in Leadership and Management and also qualified as a PRINCE2 practitioner in project management, as well as moving in to a project manager role. Completing these qualifications along with my transferable skills and experience from my employment experience I was able to secure my current position at Gateshead Council delivering low cost, low carbon solutions across the borough, leading the operations team and bringing in new funding to help deliver innovative projects in the decarbonisation sector.
I believe days such as International Women's Day are so important to inspire and empower not only our young people but to people of all genders anywhere to call for action for the fair and equal treatment of women and for equal opportunities. I have faced a lot of barriers in my career due to being a woman, having a position of leadership as a young woman and then through to taking time off for maternity leave for my first child. I am lucky in my current position that I have a very supportive line manager who supports me to achieve my career goals whilst having a family, but this is not the case for everybody and through conversations that #breakthebias we can work towards making this support the norm for every woman, no matter what career they choose.
In 15 years when my daughter will be in the world of work, we don't know what that world of work will look like, however I hope that by instigating change now, it is a better one for my daughter to live in.
Belinda recently joined the panel at Durham's Energy Institute to discuss the opportunities there are for women working in science.
Alice Wiseman - Director of Public Health
There's an inspiring free podcast series.
Gateshead Council joins the global celebration of International Women's Day, Celebrating women's achievement and joins the conversation to raise awareness against bias.
This year we've had conversations with women who work in roles across the council which break the bias.
Christine - Site manager
I was previously a Resident Liaison Officer and worked on site closely with the Site Manager for almost 15 years and during this time I gained a good knowledge of the role of a Site Manager. This gave me the incentive to peruse the role myself. I thoroughly enjoy this position and get a lot of job satisfaction. I am supported from the people I work with and there is always additional advise when required.
When I gained the position of Site Manager I was overwhelmed by the amount of people who congratulated me and offered me their support. There is a good support structure for help or advise when needed and I have learned a great deal during this time.
It was not plain sailing in my pursuit of a Site Manager position as it is generally perceived to be a "Male Role" there were some negative opinions from people yet others who supported me. I was told as I didn't have a Trade a position would not be tenable, I don't fully accept that point of view as I had at the time worked on site for 15 years and gained a lot of experience. It's my belief that in all roles people have strengths and weaknesses and I was determined my strengths were enough to get me into this position and that I was intelligent enough to quickly learn my weak areas. This is an ongoing process which will never end. As a woman I am proud break the bias as a Site Manager albeit in this male orientated industry.
Belinda Humphrey - Energy Operations Team Leader
Following the birth of my daughter I had a career change and worked for a banks call centre in various roles, and then I made the move in to local government delivering energy efficiency projects and supporting those in fuel poverty. Through the support of the local authority I completed energy qualifications through the NEA, completed a level 5 apprenticeship in Leadership and Management and also qualified as a PRINCE2 practitioner in project management, as well as moving in to a project manager role. Completing these qualifications along with my transferable skills and experience from my employment experience I was able to secure my current position at Gateshead Council delivering low cost, low carbon solutions across the borough, leading the operations team and bringing in new funding to help deliver innovative projects in the decarbonisation sector.
I believe days such as International Women's Day are so important to inspire and empower not only our young people but to people of all genders anywhere to call for action for the fair and equal treatment of women and for equal opportunities. I have faced a lot of barriers in my career due to being a woman, having a position of leadership as a young woman and then through to taking time off for maternity leave for my first child. I am lucky in my current position that I have a very supportive line manager who supports me to achieve my career goals whilst having a family, but this is not the case for everybody and through conversations that #breakthebias we can work towards making this support the norm for every woman, no matter what career they choose.
In 15 years when my daughter will be in the world of work, we don't know what that world of work will look like, however I hope that by instigating change now, it is a better one for my daughter to live in.
Belinda recently joined the panel at Durham's Energy Institute to discuss the opportunities there are for women working in science.
Alice Wiseman - Director of Public Health
There's an inspiring free podcast series.
