Rail company signals move to put more women in driving seat
LNER launches campaign to persuade female and minority ethnic entrants to pursue career in industry
A RAIL company plans to use Facebook adverts showcasing female train drivers in a bid to encourage more women to take up the job.
It comes after a survey carried out by London North Eastern Railway found just one per cent of women had wanted to be a train driver when they were young. It also showed women were put off from other stereotypically male dominated roles, with two per cent wanting to be a mechanic and five per cent a pilot.
Research carried out by the Education and Employers charity in 2018 found gender stereotyping in future careers began as young as seven.
LNER has pledged to “shift the dial” on societal attitudes towards women pursuing careers in the rail industry, particularly in driver roles, and set out to more than double the number of female applicants in five years.
In 2017, just seven per cent of applicants for driver roles at LNER were women, this increased to 17 per cent in 2020. Now it is aiming for 40 per cent to be women by 2025.To achieve this the company will appeal to women and black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates in specific locations where jobs are available using targeted Facebook advertising.
The hope is “as many potential female candidates as possible” will see the adverts, a spokesman said. Additionally, current female train drivers at the company will be put “front and centre” of its campaigns. Working alongside the Train Driver Academy, LNER aims to “showcase” female drivers to potential recruits.
Karen Lewis, LNER’S people director, said the research was “proof that the rail industry needs to do more to show women the fantastic career opportunities it can hold”.
‘I love hearing from my daughter that she too wants to be a driver, it’s such a unique career path’
“Our research shows that the biggest barrier for women joining the rail industry is lack of awareness of the career opportunities it offers. There are so many different career paths open to women in the rail industry,” she said.
Becky Brown, a driver for almost 10 years, said she gets “surprised looks” when people ask what she does for a living, or see her driving the train into the station. She has now inspired her eightyear-old daughter Maisie. “I love hearing from my daughter that she too wants to be a driver, it’s such a unique career path,” she said.