Book aims to break down gender stereotypes in railway industry
ATRAIN company is supporting a new children’s book aimed at breaking down gender stereotypes in the rail industry. The book My Mummy Is A Train Driver is the ninth instalment in a series of children’s books that promote diversity and inclusion.
ScotRail has come together with a number of other train companies around the UK to support the story from independent publisher Butterfly Books.
Other books in the series tackle gender stereotypes across a variety of industries, from plumbing and nursing to engineering and firefighting.
Karen Wallace, ScotRail equality, diversity and inclusion manager, said: “It’s no secret that the railway industry has historically been very male dominated, but we’re working hard to change that.
“That’s why books like My Mummy Is A Train Driver are so important, because they help inspire young children and break down those traditional gender stereotypes.
“The railway has a place for everyone, and by engaging in early careers activities and initiatives, it will help us recruit and retain the next generation of our railway family.”
ScotRail said that over the past few years it had been involved in a number of initiatives that aimed to break down stereotypes and attract more women, disabled people and members of the black, Asian and minority ethnic community into the rail industry.
It said this had resulted in the company almost doubling the number of women train drivers it employed over the past five years, from 51 in 2017 to 96 this year.
The number of women conductors employed had also risen during the same period, from 120 in 2017 to 166 in 2022 – an increase of 37%.
But despite the rise in women train drivers and conductors, just 22% of ScotRail’s 5082 employees are female, which the company said proved the need for more to be done to encourage women to consider a career in the rail industry.
As part of its support for the book, which launched earlier this month, ScotRail has planned visits to a number of Scottish primary schools.
During the visits, some of the operator’s women train drivers will chat to pupils about their role, with the aim of inspiring more young children to consider a future career in rail, and to showcase the “welcoming and inclusive work environment” the industry aims to foster.
Kerrine Bryan, co- author and founder of Butterfly Books, said: “As an engineer by profession, I’ve worked in a sector that has long given the impression that it’s a dirty, manually difficult career almost exclusively for white males. In reality, there are many roles within engineering, and working on sites is just a tiny element of that.
“The rail sector faces similar misconceptions when, in reality, the industry has done much to improve diversity and inclusion through various initiatives.
“Today, there are many roles that women have within the industry, including train drivers, and this deserves recognition and support.”