Women in FCERM 2019 awards

One of the things I love about the #WomenInFCERM initiative is how much it makes me challenge my thinking - and hopefully makes others challenge theirs too. Ironically though the aspect I find hardest to settle in my head is our name. By it’s very nature, ‘women’ in FCERM risks making the initiative seem exclusive. Please be assured, it’s not!

Our thinking is unashamedly about promoting and helping women in the flood and coastal erosion risk management sector. I’m very clear minded on this. Gender pay gap reporting makes it clear our sector does not have the gender equality we need or that the people we serve deserve. But in truth we just need to look around conferences and meetings to see that’s the case. Undoubtedly the sector is getting better, but it’s not there yet. A strong clear name helps us to raise the profile of the issue and be clear about what’s driving us.

Behind that though is an ambition to make the workplace better for everyone, regardless of gender. Technology appears to be helping us work longer rather than smarter, public expectations of the level to which we can reduce risk are increasing and climate change means there is no doubt the challenge we face is growing. Extrapolating that could lead to some pretty scary scenarios. Do we want future generations of flood and coastal erosion professionals to be working in a world whey they’re constantly trying to juggle expectations and risk, compromising their personal lives and potentially their wellbeing to do so? I don’t.

Neither do I think that would help us. We need to evolve our thinking, our solutions and our ways of working in order to successfully manage the challenges ahead. Doing that will require diverse thinking - best done by diverse teams.

That’s what the #InternationalWomensDay 2019 theme #Balanceforbetter means to me. Relatively recent history has seen society’s balance coming from men focusing on career and women focusing on home. Now we’re recognising that shifting the way we work to allow us all the balance to be our best at work and at home is a better bet.

To do this we need more acceptance that different ways of working don’t mean slipping standards but in fact can help us to do more. We need to drive change and trust that we will make it work. Above all women and men need the courage, support and confidence to stand up for these things. Only then can we all benefit.

So I’m delighted this #IWD2019 that #WomenInFCERM has launched its first ever awards, kindly sponsored by Jacobs. We’re hoping to hear the stories of the (as yet) unsung heroes across these 2 categories:

Who are the people who you see regularly supporting and promoting true gender equality? Who are the people who champion the women in your organisation and help them to not just establish their careers but keep on developing them? Who are the people striving for a world that really is #Betterforbalance? We want to hear their stories.

Send your nominations through, in 250 words or less, to FloodandCoast@environment-agency.gov.uk by Tuesday 30 April. You can read more about the judging criteria and how to enter on Twitter @WomenInFCERM or in our LinkedIn group. I look forward to being inspired!