A more gender-diverse workplace is key to driving innovation in the engineering sector, a leading voice in the industry has claimed.

Rebecca Neill, Head of Project Development at hydrogen production firm Hygen Energy Energy, said ensuring that more women are represented is key to creating an inclusive and innovative industry that benefits everyone.

Engineering is a field that has long been dominated by men, but ahead of International Women in Engineering Day on June 23, Rebecca said it’s important to recognise the important contributions that women have made and continue to make in the industry.

“Things have changed, and you see a lot more younger female engineers coming through due to it becoming more normalised in schools and a shift in the workplace, but rightly or wrongly, it’s still a largely male field,” she said.

“So much so that often you’re the only one sitting in a room, and I think it takes a certain type of person to be okay with that.

“I would love to see more women represented in engineering, and the positive thing is that the industry is very open to it and ready for it.

“Diversity of thought is a massive thing in engineering in terms of innovation and because you don’t get to a positive solution if you all think in the same way. The more variety you can have in that room, the better the solution you’ll get to in the end.”

Rebecca Neill, Head of Project Development at hydrogen production firm Hygen Energy, says ensuring more women are represented is key to creating an inclusive and innovative industry that benefits everyone.

Rebecca, 26, studied electrical engineering at university and worked for Northern Power Grid, Fluor and Renewable Connections before joining Hygen.

“My interest in engineering largely came from my mum who was also an engineer,” she said.

“I always loved technology and maths at school and building stuff using Lego. At that time, I didn’t know it wasn’t normal to be a female engineer.

“When I graduated from university, I was the only female to graduate on my course in a cohort of about 60. I think the figures for the number of women in engineering were the same as when my mum graduated 30 years ago.

“I always say that if a woman is an engineer, they must really like engineering, because if you don’t, you would go and do something more ‘normal’. You would only do it because you really wanted to.

“My message to any female considering a career in engineering is that they’re capable of doing anything anyone else can.

“It’s a great career as it’s so varied and opens so many doors. There are loads of different areas you can work in, and it teaches you some great skills, such as problem-solving, which can be applied to engineering and anything else.”

“Diversity of thought is a massive thing in engineering in terms of innovation and because you don’t get to a positive solution if you all think in the same way.” Rebecca Neill, Head of Project Development at hydrogen production firm Hygen Energy
Hygen is currently investing in developing more than 1 GW of low-carbon hydrogen production projects in the UK and aims to be at the forefront of delivering the Government’s ambitious net zero targets and driving the hydrogen economy.

One of the key projects Rebecca has been involved in is the development of the UK’s largest, state-of-the-art hydrogen production facilities to be located in Bradford.

Clean energy pioneers Hygen and N-Gen are working in partnership to deliver the facility, with the aim of producing enough hydrogen to remove 800 diesel-fuelled buses a day from West Yorkshire roads.

Once complete, the scheme will produce low-carbon hydrogen, which can be used to decarbonise vehicles and industry.

“My responsibility with Hygen is to manage projects from the moment they originate to when they are ready to be delivered,” Rebecca added.

“I’ve been involved with the Bradford project since the beginning, including writing the first bid, and I’ll continue to be involved along with the rest of the project team until it’s operational and the gas starts flowing.

“It represents a massive foundation setting for hydrogen and will be the first time that hydrogen is commercially available for use in the push towards net zero.

“I think it’s a good building block for other similar projects, and it’s interesting to be that first spade in the ground.

“I’ve always wanted to make things better in the world, and as an engineer, a big way of doing that is through net zero and trying to reduce our carbon usage.”

To learn more about Hygen Energy email info@hygenenergy.com