Network Rail has revealed its new recruitment campaign, which aims to encourage more women to work in the rail sector, targeting its Southern region including south London, Kent, Sussex and areas of the South West. The Southern region currently has a low number of female staff members and the campaign aims to rectify this under-representation.

The Southern region sees women extremely under-represented in positions such as signallers and maintenance operatives, with an average workforce represented by 11% and 2% respectively. In comparison to these figures in the same positions across the national Network Rail network, the figures are just 10% and 1% respectively.

With a focus on embracing fairness and levelling the field of work, the campaign shows female colleagues working in the Southern region who are working in the aforementioned positions in a bid to inspire other women to consider joining the historically male-dominated industry.

The campaign will feature posters in some of the busiest stations of the Southern region, including London Waterloo and London Victoria. Alongside this, a number of case studies on the colleagues featured in the campaign are available on Network Rail’s website to offer inspiring and encouraging detail of their personal experiences working in the rail sector.

Senior Technical officer working as part of the maintenance team, Jordanna Mills, is 22 and from Ashford in Kent, who works at Network Rail said:

“My team primarily investigates any faults on the railway that need fixing. Once a fault is reported, it’s up to my team to survey, design, and implement a repair scheme using either a tamper or stone blower machine. We play a vital role in making sure the railway remains safe, reliable, and efficient for everyone.”

“I absolutely love the maintenance side of my job, as I’m fully involved in improving our track conditions at each stage. I also enjoy the variety of the job. I work closely with the teams out on track maintaining the railway, and with various engineers solving larger problems. It gives me the tools and experience I need to progress my career.”

“I would recommend anyone to take the plunge and apply for a role within maintenance at Network Rail. It’s the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. I am extremely passionate about promoting women and young people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. I’m also keen to promote non-conventional routes into further education, including apprenticeships. All these things weren’t talked about when I was at school.”

Alison Badrock is 47 and from Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex and works as a signaller, which is a vital safety position on the railway. Alison has been working in the rail sector for 11 years now.

Alison said:

“I always thought the railway was more of a ‘man’s world’ and when I asked my dad if it was something I could do, he encouraged me to pursue it.”

“I was working as a private carer and was a single mum and felt a little stuck in my job. I had completed my personal track safety and worked with my dad for two years as a contractor on the tracks then my brother who is a signaller encouraged me to apply for a signalling job.”

“I like the technical side of my job and how the day to day running can change at a moment’s notice from delays to failures. It amazes me that I still learn new things within the role.”

“Since I started at Network Rail 11 years ago, the railway is a completely different place and there are so many women now in senior positions. We even have a regional managing director, who is now a woman. I genuinely couldn’t have imagined that a decade ago.”

Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s managing director for Southern region, said:

“We’re really pleased to see the rollout of this new recruitment campaign.”

“Network Rail aims to recruit from the widest possible pool of talent and tries to appoint the very best people for the job and we’re aware that in certain roles there is an imbalance in diversity.”

“It’s important for us to create an inclusive environment, increasing the diversity of our colleagues, which in turn attracts more talent into the industry. We must cater for everyone, not only by embracing diversity but also embracing diverse views which will make us better at what we do.”