Miriam Wasik-Evans, 'Knowing that the company takes women’s equality seriously gives me confidence'
Hi I’m Miriam, and I’m the Lead Engineer for Developer Services in North Wales. I’m responsible for the design and delivery of water mains schemes and sewer network reinforcement being undertaken across North Wales for developers. I get involved with a variety of projects, from a couple undertaking their first self-build house to providing water and wastewater infrastructure for new strategic development sites or major infrastructure schemes such as the Caernarfon by-pass.
No project, day, challenge or solution is the same and this is one of the reasons why I love my job.
I always knew I wanted to work in the construction industry; I wanted to design things that would be around for generations and that I could point to when I’m older to people to say ‘I did that’, I just never knew that I’d be pointing at manhole chambers covers! Looking back at when I was younger, I can’t really recall many opportunities when I was in school to explore the possibility of becoming an engineer and I certainly didn’t know any women engineers that could have inspired me to become one. Over time this has improved, the awareness campaign of International Women in Engineer Day has been instrumental for this. I also think it awesome the work that Welsh Water have been doing with local schools, arranging for inspirational presentations to be given by leading women engineers in the company, and motivating the future engineers of our industry.
I’ve worked in the engineering industry now for over 13 years and for almost 10 of those years for Welsh Water, so I don’t really know life outside of being a woman in engineering. Most of the teams that I have been a part of have been male dominated, with perhaps one or two women in the team. I don’t tend to find this intimidating and certainly knowing that the company takes women’s equality seriously gives me confidence. Welsh water have actively supported me throughout my career and have provided me with excellent opportunities for development.
Obviously being a minority in an industry will have some challenges; on certain occasions on site I have been mistaken as a junior employee just because of my gender, getting the right PPE to fit (gloves and sleeves) and the toilet facilities on construction sites are rarely acceptable. But on the whole, the good bits far exceed the occasional challenge and I would recommend this industry to anybody out there.