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Investing in an inclusive culture in rail engineering EUR ING Toyin Davies has worked on the delivery of major rail engineering projects such as Eurotunnel, Arlanda rail link, Victoria line upgrade and HS2. Now she is playing an important role to champion equality, diversity and inclusion
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oyin Davies is not easily fazed. During the past two decades she has supported railway clients in numerous roles from the build of new railways and introduction of new trains, through to station design, and the development and implementation of standards and regulations to improve safety. Now she is playing an important role working with industry to help build a more inclusive railway. Toyin is part of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Charter Working Group, a diverse team of 11 people pulled together by Women in Rail (WR) and the Railway Industry Association (RIA), to champion EDI in the UK rail industry. The EDI charter has been signed by more than 180 signatories covering organisations of all sizes and disciplines across the rail industry, who share the same commitment for change. Each month Rail Director has spoken with a different member of the Working Group about their involvement, aims and aspirations for the creation of a more balanced and higher performing sector, with Toyin this month explaining why it so important to be involved. “I have enjoyed working in rail, it has offered me so many opportunities and working with the industry on the EDI Charter is an opportunity to give something back,” she said. “Everyone has a role to play in ensuring we continue to build a diverse and inclusive culture for our railway and be the change we wish to see in the world.” The EDI Charter involves several key commitments, including appointing a member of the senior leadership team as an EDI champion, agreeing an action plan, providing opportunities for training and education of employees, and supporting the progression of diverse individuals into senior roles. Leading by example For Toyin, her passion is centred on helping people thrive when it comes to engineering and ensuring that they have the same opportunities that she’s had or even better. “I was delighted and grateful to see so many organisations signing up to the EDI Charter; it shows the extensive support from the industry and the recognition for greater diversity in rail,” she said. 62 | February 2022
“Despite some good progress made in EDI, there are two areas of improvement that spring to mind and it would mean a lot to me to see companies make this happen in 2022. “The first is EDI leadership through action – this is about the creation of a truly diverse senior management team, leading by example, top down, to ensure successful embedding of the EDI Charter within their organisations, in order to create an inclusive workforce. “The second is recruiting more women like me in engineering into senior management positions. Today, I know of only two.”
Everyone has a role to play in ensuring we continue to build a diverse and inclusive culture for our railway She added: “Although I worked with so many truly amazing colleagues, what I missed is working alongside or seeing people like myself in my area of industry. “In the early years I was often the only female engineer; two decades later it is great to see a few more women in rail engineering.
“However, we are still in very low numbers at circa four per cent (latest Women in Rail data) and it is still rare to see women of my ethnic minority, particularly at senior management level. A change here would be most welcome. “Once created, ensuring the sustainability of the diverse and inclusive workforce is important. What I have learned over the years from colleagues, customers, staff and working on projects is that it really makes a difference when staff members feel valued and respected, know their talents matter and that they have the support they need to deliver their jobs. “Being able to bring their best selves to work every day promotes staff wellbeing, ensures staff retention and creates high performing teams driven to succeed, even in challenging circumstances. This positively impacts overall business performance and, furthermore, a good representation of our society in business is important for our customers and stakeholders to see people like themselves.” Role models Toyin says it is important that there are role models who can prove essential in sustaining a diverse workforce. “People make places, and seeing people like themselves in the workplace and at senior management level makes them feel that they will be accepted and can aspire to do as well as their role models, and that they can have opportunities of career progression in the organisation,” she added. “To achieve a truly diverse senior management team it will be important to ensure that diversity and inclusivity statistics apply to all levels of an organisation, in particular senior management positions. I understand the latter is not the case in some organisations. “Providing training and mentorship for existing talent in your organisation, to enable them to move from middle management to senior management, could be a good way forward for some organisations. railbusinessdaily.com