International Women's Day 2024 - Gillian Wood

What is your position at Pick Everard and what does it entail?

My role is Associate – Health, Safety & Risk Management, in the project health and safety team. I’m very new to Pick Everard, having started on 2nd January this year and my remit is to develop a new offer of corporate or organisational health and safety management services, which falls outside of construction projects and construction site activities.

I’ll be working with clients on their overarching health and safety strategy and the implementation of a robust health and safety management system. Although a new area for Pick Everard, it’s not new to me, as my previous role was managing a team of general health and safety professionals offering extensive services and pragmatic advice. One of my key strengths is organisational safety culture change, which is a current hot topic and high on the agenda for a lot of organisations. I’m also very keen on simplifying and standardising health and safety which is always a popular approach with clients. Nobody is interested in convoluted or difficult systems to keep them safe or compliant!

How did you get into health and safety risk management as a career?

My first formal qualification in health and safety was in 2009 when I accidently self-enrolled on the NEBOSH General Certificate when I saw it being offered for free! I didn’t expect to enjoy the course but thought it might help any future career prospects and understanding of risk management, so I attended with slight trepidation as I didn’t know what to expect. It was a two-week fast track course and after the first day or so I was absolutely hooked. As soon as I’d completed the General Certificate, I self-funded the NEBOSH Diploma which, due to personal challenges, took a while to complete, but in 2012 I submitted my final dissertation and graduated at Warwick University in 2013.

I knew I wanted to work in this area but even with the qualifications, I found that health and safety roles require experience and without anything specific, it was a big challenge to secure a role. My initial approach was to create my own company and work as a freelancer, which I did for a few years and that gave me the much-needed experience. Since then I’ve not looked back and worked in some amazing places, each one giving me unique opportunities to learn and develop.

Have you faced any challenges reaching your current position?

I’ve been fortunate that being female has not held me back in securing some great roles and I’ve also been fortunate to have worked with and for some excellent, inspiring mentors. Having worked in environments which are predominately dominated by men, my own mentors have been male. It’s changing now but health and safety was considered to be a job for a ‘grey man in a suit’ or ‘man with a clipboard’ and I’ve always challenged this perception. I’m a natural creative, something which isn’t usually associated with health and safety, so I had to push boundaries to get my message heard. There have been some tough moments, but resilience and the ability to ‘bounce back’ has helped me enormously.

In my younger days I did experience what I can now see as harassment and discrimination; and I’ve seen it happen to other females in the workplace too. I do think the ‘me too’ campaign has helped with this, but there is still a long way to go. Having spoken to other females in leadership positions, the biggest challenge seems to be self-limiting beliefs and fear of imposter syndrome. Being aware of and aiming to manage both has helped me move forward in my career.

Why Is International Women’s Day important to you?

It’s important to celebrate females in the workplace and provide support and leadership to younger leaders of the future. Since joining Pick Everard, I’ve joined the Women in Leadership group and hope to bring some mentorship and support to younger females in the practice. I also believe in recognising the male community who support female workers. Without my own supporters, I wouldn’t have learnt and developed as much as I have over the years.

The theme this year is ‘Inspire Inclusion’ – what does this mean to you?

For me ‘Inspire Inclusion’ is about the journey to a world where gender is not a consideration and International Women’s Day is a thing of the past. Not that we need to stop celebrating, but the resultant destination is a world of inclusivity, without unconscious bias or underrepresented marginalised groups in particular industries and the boardroom. Celebrating success should be about exactly that, regardless of gender. This of course includes equal pay for all.

What role do people in your industry have in working towards gender equality in the working world?

I’ve noticed more females choosing health and safety as a career choice now, which is a positive step. My experience is that young females are still very unrepresented in certain sectors, typically engineering, mechanics and construction. Simple barriers to entry that could be overcome are the availability of decent female welfare facilities and workwear/protective equipment designed for women. There are pockets of excellence in both of those areas but they are few and far between, not the norm and difficult to find.

What is your best piece of advice for young women considering a career in health and safety?

Health and safety is multi-faceted and ultimately for me is about creating a safety culture where everyone goes home safely at the end of the working day. My general advice to young women starting out in their careers is to follow your dreams, be fearless, resilient and treat every challenge as an opportunity for growth.