The heating and plumbing industry has been historically male dominated and according to statistics, only 5% are female. With new developments in STEM education, more and more women are joining engineering roles.
With this in mind, the District Heating Divas group was created to
bring women across the district heating/low carbon heating sector
together to provide a support network, share ideas, make contacts and
build relationships but also to inspire and support new women to join the sector. We now have a wonderful group of women who meet on a monthly basis. The name Diva was chosen as a result of the following definition:
The District Heating Divas are split by location such as London,
Northern and Scottish. This allows for the monthly meetings to be local
as we tour cafés in our area for catch up coffees! Typically, each
meeting has a broad topic to discuss surrounding industry news from
regulations to individuals sharing their current projects. During the
Covid-19 pandemic, we have turned to touring each other’s home offices
whilst continuing to share industry knowledge;
this has also been a great tool to check in with others during the
difficult times and share tips on how to differentiate between working
from home and relaxing at home. We’ve even had honorary guests as pets
and children have joined our video call!
At the end of last year, we had our first national meet where all
District Heating Divas joined in London for the day. The event was
sponsored by a variety of companies including Sycous and we attended
various workshops such as ‘Exploring the future landscapes for district
heating’ and ‘Help build confidence and resilience by exploring
leadership, negotiation and mentoring’. Personally, I enjoy meeting new
people as well as developing my knowledge of heat networks! The day
ended with an empowering women seminar hosted by the drag prince Alfie
Ordinary and people were still talking about the success of the event
weeks later!
It is no surprise Sycous sponsored this event as the group reflects
our own equality and diversity ethos. Our policy surrounding this
focuses on the benefits of a diverse workforce with different
backgrounds who are solely employed due to ability. One third of the
Sycous work force members are female in various roles such as
development, commercial, engineering, projects, and support. As a result
of the abilities demonstrated by the female members of the Sycous team,
35% of our management team are women.
Following the success of the District Diva’s group and the level of
support that was provided to one and other, a secondary group was
created called the Heat Exchange Mentoring programme. Each person could
sign up as a Mentor or a Mentee to
further develop their own industry related knowledge or to provide the
information to others. I had been in the industry a little over a year
when this programme was created and knew it would be a great way to
further develop my understanding of the wider industry alongside my
knowledge and training from Sycous. Other women within the District
Diva’s group have also found the programme to be successful:
Sycous support numerous events and groups within the industry and I can really see the value of supporting District Diva’s. I hope to continue meeting and supporting women in the industry as the group expands!
