“Enhanced by Engineering” is this year’s theme for International Women in Engineering Day. The focus for this theme is on the incredible women around the world that are carrying out engineering work to support the lives and livelihoods of people, every day. Launched by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), we are joining in on the advocation of this global initiative to celebrate the achievements of women in all science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers.

Engineering is the foundation of technical services, and The Mecsia Group will always be at the forefront of supporting and acknowledging the hard work that women in STEM do to enhance lives every day. By celebrating International Women in Engineering Day, we want to make space for women to explore careers within engineering and encourage progression within an industry whereby women are not only valued, but vital to its continued growth and innovation.

Gender Bias in STEM

It is our responsibility to acknowledge the gender disparity within the STEM industry and technical services are no exception to this either. According to the Women in Facilities Management Group, men outnumber women in leadership roles one to nine and the WES states on their website that in the UK, only 16.5% of engineers are women.  As a powerhouse in technical services, we make it our priority to create positive change for the representation of women in engineering. Throughout our network of companies that form The Mecsia Group, our shared ethos is clear, and we strive to create a company culture of support for anyone that wants to explore a career in engineering or progress into roles of leadership.

We are proud to commemorate the women that have brought The Mecsia Group to where it is today and will continue to support those a part of our team in all their ambitions. In support of creating positive change for the representation of women in engineering, we also strive to bring change not just internally, but externally too. Many of our companies have outreach programmes in place with strategies to encourage young women to consider futures in STEM careers. We are delighted to be invited back to schools within our local communities every year to educate young women on what it means to have a career in STEM and the opportunities available to those that are interested in exploring engineering further. We bring women from within our own businesses to deliver talks and demonstrate that there is a positive space for women within the STEM industry, as well as opportunity for growth and progression.

Women Make Mecsia:

As a part of our support for international women in engineering day, we wanted to give you an insight into the women a part of our Mecsia team. We are proud of the community and culture we have curated throughout our business and want to highlight the modern inclusivity of the STEM industry.

The women that make up Mecsia cover a diverse range of roles from apprentices, engineers to admin and senior management too. At Artic Building Services over 40% of women working in head office hold leadership roles, and at Cambridge, women account for 33% of the managerial team. At Acorn over a quarter of the women employed are in management positions, and at Scott Combustion, one of Mecsia’s smaller acquisitions, over 20% of employees are female. We couldn’t leave out our inspirational CFO either, sitting on the Board of the Mecsia Group is Paula Miller, commanding change in the technical service industry from the very top. Whilst there is still much work to be done for the representation of women in engineering and our industry, at Mecsia we are doing all we can to support women in technical services.

Our woman engineers are also a vital part of our team, and this is one area in which we are striving to continue expanding. Artic Building Services recently facilitated the bold career pivot of contract administrator, Caitlyn Gold, who has now begun her AC apprenticeship at major healthcare site Kings College Hospital alongside our other expert engineers, and it is these engineering opportunities for women which we are proud to be able to provide.

Acorn is leading the charge with women in engineering and supporting their staff every step of the way. Shannon Smith joined Acorn shortly after the pandemic as a Commercial Gas Engineer. With her strong personality, Shannon quickly made a name for herself out on the field as an engineer, and after working with Acorn for just over a year, Shannon was promoted into the leadership role of Operational Support Manager.

Cambridge was excited to champion a member of their engineering team for international women in engineering day, Jennifer Duckett. Jennifer started with Cambridge in 2022 and has become a key member of the maintenance team as an Electrical engineer. Jennifer’s commitment to excellent service and her drive to tackle most work has earned her continuous praise since working with Cambridge and is an inspirational figure for their growing team of women engineers.

At Scott Combustion spearheading the service team is their Service manager Vikki Reeves. Having worked at Scott Combustion for over thirteen years, her experience and knowledge is invaluable to their service team. With exceptional customer focus Vikki is a key individual who brings in high praise from client’s time and time again. A valued member who continues to shatter the glass ceiling, leading great achievements with Scott combustion.

This is just a small insight into the women that make Mecsia and who have been key contributors to all our achievements that makes us the powerhouse of technical services.

Partner with Inclusivity, Partner with Mecsia:

At Mecsia it is our promise to continue diversifying the technical service industry; celebrating women in engineering and all the work they do that makes our industry so rewarding.  We are grateful to be celebrating International Women in Engineering Day this year and to have the opportunity to champion some of the fantastic women in our team.

To find out more about the teams at Mecsia, have a look at our network here. Get in touch to see how our champions can help you with your technical services. Let’s break the glass ceiling for women in engineering together.