On International Women’s Day, Tuesday, 8th March, Greater Anglia held a bespoke event where existing staff currently in other roles can apply to become a train driver.

Held at Greater Anglia’s academy in Stratford, it included information about the recruitment process and assessments, driver training, and a Q&A session with some of the company’s female drivers. Potential recruits also had a go at driving a train virtually on a train simulator.

Greater Anglia has an ambition to achieve an equal gender balance across its entire workforce by 2025, including in leadership roles. The company already has a women in rail group, Up!, which runs sessions for all employees throughout the year. They have run inspirational women in leadership discussions, developmental webinars on imposter syndrome, emotional intelligence and personal brand, and will continue to run similar events throughout the year.

One of the panellists is Sarah Swanston, who has been a qualified train driver for 25 years. Sarah, Greater Anglia’s Right Time Railway Manager, said: “Every year we are seeing more and more women applying for train driver roles and this event is a great opportunity for people to find out more about what the job entails.

“Some of our female drivers have been here for decades, but we are always looking to recruit more women. We want women to know that being a train driver is a great career choice.”

Katy Bucknell, Greater Anglia HR Director, said: “We are always looking to attract more women into the railway. We are running three female driver information days this year for internal colleagues to give them insight into the role of a driver.

“We recently recruited drivers and conductors and 50% of the new recruits who already worked for the company were female.

“The railway is a great place to work with many benefits and we’re hoping more women consider a career as a train driver.”