In 2021, the Women in FCERM initiative ran a benchmarking survey to inform the future work of the initiative. We would like to thank those who took part.
Most of the survey respondents came from Consultancy, government bodies and local government. There was a low response from academia, the third sector and contractors which suggests we need to increase our reach in those sectors particularly.
Respondents were interested in a wide range of areas, and in preferential order were the results of the benchmarking, networking, unconscious bias, sponsorship and mentoring, flexible working, managing career breaks, developing and delivering an equality, diversity and inclusion strategy, recruitment and maternity and paternity arrangements.
Other areas of interest included assertiveness, professional development, public speaking, examples of how women have overcome challenges in their careers (such as bullying and harassment), the positive experiences and successes women have achieved and tips for women in management positions.
We also asked which organisations have had the greatest influence on the development of diversity activities. Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) has had the greatest influence on development of diversity activities amongst the survey respondents, followed by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). Women in FCERM scored well considering it only started in 2018, coming in with a similar level of influence to many other professional organisations.
We have taken on board the feedback and are weaving this into our forward programme of work, including:
- Annual awards for individuals within their organisation/ the wider sector and an organisational award
- Networking sessions at the annual national Flood and Coast Conference and regional events for the Midlands/ East/ North/ South East
- Mentoring scheme (now entering its third round, having involved to date over a hundred mentees and mentors)
- Continued social media presence on LinkedIn and Twitter
- Future surveys on the work of the initiative
Join us at the Flood and Coast conference in June!
Capita Binnies are proud sponsors of this year’s event, which is on the afternoon of the 7th June at the International Centre in Telford. Come along and join us as we further the conversation on #breakthebias. We have a number of high-profile speakers plus networking and discussion sessions. What will you pledge to do to #breakthebias and help secure gender equality across the flood and coastal industry?
Hannah Coogan, Women in FCERM Steering Group member and Regional Delivery Director for Binnies
womeninfcerm.org 