SU (SUJATA) SHARMA COMPANY SOLICITOR, SKANSKA
OUTSTANDING WOMAN IN CONSTRUCTION LAW 2016 WINNER
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hen I first heard the news that I was a finalist, I took a deep breath and thought of all the supportive rocks in my life who have contributed to my career; my family, my amazing work colleagues and my boss. They always believed in me, more than I believed in myself! I brought cakes for those who had nominated me as I was so touched that they had shown me this recognition. They had put in a lot of work in assembling my nomination. Knowing of the talent that exists in the construction legal world, it is very humbling and a true privilege to have won Outstanding Woman in Construction Law 2016. I work on major projects, negotiating with exceptional female construction lawyers on the opposite side of the table. It is an honour to be recognised by winning this prestigious award for something
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I absolutely love doing and am extremely passionate about. I work with top people at Skanska on world class projects; top, not just because of their professional calibre but their ethical standards and great sense of humour! Winning this award is the pinnacle of my career. I hope my win will inspire women of all backgrounds to be encouraged to follow their dreams. I believe the construction world is very receptive to hard work. As a result of this win, I will spread my simple philosophy through talks, which is “It's all about hard work, going the extra mile and not letting your gender or ethnicity hold you back in any way!” We women generally doubt ourselves. If we believe in ourselves, this, in turn, will empower and inspire other women around us. Being part of WICE was a refreshing, thrilling experience;
The European Women In Construction & Engineering Awards | MAY 2016
from the organisers, to the judges, speakers and fellow finalists, there was a great feeling of togetherness; we all felt we were part of something very unique as we were raising the profile of women in construction. Increasing the number of women in construction makes our industry more robust as it gives an opportunity for varying voices to be heard. I think all companies should nominate their talented female work force as it makes the nominees feel extremely valued and appreciated, as I do. It also reflects well on the nominating company as it demonstrates that although we women in construction are a minority, we are appreciated for the unique value we add to our dynamic sector. My advice to those companies thinking about making nominations is simply to “go for it” as it is a win- win situation, both for the nominator and the nominee.