Today, across the country, people are marking the life of Ada Lovelace, the English mathematician, writer, and visionary who, despite passing away in 1852, has continued to inspire millions of women into STEM. We take a look at some of the inspiring women in STEM throughout history and our own talented female workforce.

As the first computer programmer in the mid-1800s, Ada has been referred to as the ‘prophet of the computer age’ for her foresight into how computers would one day have uses beyond mathematics.

As a company which values innovation and technology so greatly, and one which is fighting to address the imminent skills shortage caused by a lack of people choosing STEM-related subjects and careers, Keltbray is proud to celebrate the achievements of this woman and the many other inspiring women in STEM throughout history. For example, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon. Alongside her are the likes of Nora Stanton Barney, English-born U.S. civil engineer, architect, and suffragist. Barney was among the first women to graduate with an engineering degree in the United States.

To mark this special day, we’re taking a look at Keltbray’s own inspirational and diverse female workforce and sharing some of their stories.

Holly Price leads the Training, Development and Social Value functions at Keltbray and has worked for the business for 14 years. Holly started in the industry as an administrator at a Demolition Company. When starting out in her career, Holly faced a lot of resistance as she was the only woman in a male dominated world, but she was determined to succeed. Holly worked as an Explosives Engineer for nine years and absolutely loved it. When Holly joined Keltbray she set up the training function from scratch, which has gone from strength to strength. She now sits on the board of the CITB and was also appointed the first woman President of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors earlier this year.

Apprentice Natsenet Kebrom, known to us as Naz, is an apprentice working on demolition strip outs. On her career choice Natsenet says, “I feel it fits my personality well. I have always been practical and I enjoy being on site so it seemed a good fit. I came into the industry through the Women into Construction programme which made it very easy.” Naz is currently doing the Level 2 Demolition Apprenticeship and is thoroughly enjoying it.

Nina Finlay is a Principal Civil Engineer working in our Wentworth House Rail Systems business, carrying out and providing structural analysis, design and allocation for OLE structures and foundations. Nina has been a Civil Designer/Structural Engineer since she was 17, working in both on-shore and off-shore roles. Nina has found it challenging but gets a great sense of achievement at the end of a project and loves working at Keltbray.

Olateju Kuye is a Graduate Design Engineer. Olateju designs temporary works that enable the construction of permanent works. Olateju chose the job as her dad was also an engineer and her role model as a child, so she always wanted a career like his. She chose temporary works in particular because of the dynamic nature of the job. On her role, Olateju says, “Every week comes with a new challenge and this keeps me very interested.”

These are just some examples of the incredibly talented women we have working for us at Keltbray, from apprentices to graduates and beyond. Construction remains a very male-dominated industry and there is still a long way to go, but we have seen a significant increase in both women apprentices and graduates joining Keltbray over the last year and as a company we have an extremely diverse workforce. Long may this continue.

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