Construction sector needs more female role models

Julie White

A leading figure in the Midlands’ construction sector has said girls and young women need more female role models if they are to be attracted to pursue careers in the industry.

Julie White, the managing director of Coventry-based D-Drill, is a major advocate for her chosen sector but establishing her reputation in a male-dominated environment has been an uphill struggle.

She said: “I had quite a strong profile in my own world of diamond drilling and concrete sawing but that is, to say the least, very niche.

“I think girls and young women need a cross section of role models and, in my view, not enough have come from industry and too many have come from the world of entertainment and celebrity.

“So I wanted to use my profile to really encourage women to look at the many careers there are in industry and to start their own business.”

She said her own profile had rocketed after she won the Businesswoman of the Year award in 2011.

Since winning, she has appeared on a range of TV and radio programmes – including Question Time and the One Show – as well as in a host of national print titles while her business has expanded and opened in London.

“After winning the award, I became a spokeswoman for my industry but also for women in business generally,” she said.

She said the added profile of winning the award had helped to raise the issue of encouraging more young women to think about a career in business.

Other previous winners of the award include Baroness Karren Brady, former Dragons Den star Hilary Devey and the current title holder, Jacqui O’Donovan, who runs London-based O’Donovan Waste Disposal.

Since winning her title, she has remained an advocate of the awards.

“I am a huge advocate of the Businesswoman of the Year awards and I would encourage female business leaders, owners and entrepreneurs to put themselves forward,” added Ms White.

“It can have a genuinely positive impact on the profile of your business but, equally, it gives you an opportunity to show other women what can be achieved in business.”

Nominations for this year’s event are now open with entries being accepted up to Monday, September 11.

Judy Groves, director of the Businesswoman of the Year Award, said: “Since winning the title, Julie White has been a great ambassador for the awards and for the cause of women in business generally.

“She has used the award as great lever to promote the need for more women leaders in construction and the same goes for other sectors.

“I would, therefore, urge businesswomen to put themselves forward for an award in order to show young women and girls that there are female role models in industry to aspire to.”

The winner of this year’s award will be announced at a ceremony at Birmingham Hilton Metropole on Friday, October 6.

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