Today is International Women’s Day, and this year’s theme is “Inspire Inclusion.”
To recognise the day, we spoke to three influential women in our company who each represent one of the three integral service areas of the business: Transport Planning, Engineering and Placemaking.
We asked them about their proudest achievements, the importance of diversity, the most valuable advice they have ever received, and which other influential women they would love to meet.
Jane Overton, Principal Consultant
Jane is a Principal Consultant, who joined the team in 2019. She has over 7 years’ experience working for a range of public and private sector clients primarily in development planning, but also in strategy development, scheme appraisal, travel planning and transport modelling.
Jane’s key skills include junction modelling, accessibility analysis and travel demand forecasting to support the preparation of Transport Assessments and other technical documents for a range of developments including residential, education and employment land uses.
What is one of your proudest achievements?
I’m proud of lots of things in my career to date, but recently, I’ve been particularly proud of the work we have been doing in Shrewsbury in terms of the potential it has to have a tangible, positive impact on people’s lives, society and the environment, our approach, and the opportunities I’ve had to develop my own skills and technical knowledge. As Project Manager, seeing preparation of a transport strategy through from inception to initial projects starting to be allocated funding is incredibly rewarding. I can’t wait to see what the next stages of the project have in store and hopefully see full implementation of the strategy on the ground one day!
Why do you think diversity in the workplace is so important?
Diversity in the workplace is important because everyone has something different to bring to the table. To address key challenges in the fields of engineering and transport planning, increasingly we need to be more innovative in how we solve problems and plan for the future. In my mind, we can only achieve this if we bring the best minds together, challenge the status quo and truly collaborate – having a diverse workforce is key to achieving this.
What is the most important piece of advice that you have been given that has helped you in your career?
I’ve been fortunate to work with many fantastic colleagues and clients over the last 9 years, and many have imparted pearls of wisdom. However, one piece of advice was to consider how I could find my “ikigai”, which is a Japanese word that roughly translates to your reason for being, and is all about pursuing what brings you joy and inspires you. In terms of a career, it is often thought to have four components – what you love, what the world needs, what you can be paid for and what you are good at. The centre of these four components is your “ikigai” and is where you should focus your efforts to find fulfilment. The idea is that if you can find this, then you’ll find pleasure and value in what you do!
It’s hard to find, but thinking about my “ikigai”, and then taking steps to realise it (or even a part of it!) has helped me to make decisions in my career and identify goals to progress.
If you could have dinner with three inspirational women, dead or alive, who would they be and why?
I take most of my inspiration from people I see and interact with in everyday life – whilst there are many inspirational figures in the public eye, inspirational friends, family members, and colleagues are there are on the ground to offer advice, and may come from similar backgrounds, so you can really see how their advice is applicable to your everyday lived experiences.
Growing up surrounded by strong female family members, going to an all-girls school for most of my education, and then into an industry where female colleagues are pushing boundaries on a daily basis, I have been very lucky to be surrounded by inspirational women throughout my life so far, so I think I’d just like to have dinner with three of these fabulous women! It would be good to set aside time to hear their stories without the time constraints of everyday life, and to take a moment to thank them for being so amazing (as I often think that we don’t do this frequently enough!).
Phoebe Ryding, Principal Flood Risk and Drainage Engineer
Phoebe is a Chartered Water and Environmental Manager who has experience developing surface water drainage strategies which holistically manage surface water through the use of SuDS, as well as producing Flood Risk Assessments to support proposed development.
Alongside this, she has undertaken work with local authorities reviewing planning applications for Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) and has also worked with SuDS Approval Bodies (SABs), reviewing SAB applications and working on internal council housing schemes to ensure they comply with the Statutory SuDS Standards.
What is one of your proudest achievements?
One of my proudest achievements has been working on the renaturalisation of the River Rea at Longbridge. I have worked on the project for a number of years and taken it from concept design through to construction, and it has been a significant part of my career which helped me learn so many new skills. I love seeing photos of the river channel being used in news articles and thinking I had a part to play in its restoration. I’m looking forward to the riverside walk opening, so that members of the public can enjoy the new green space, many of whom may not even know there is a river running through the former industrial site.
Why do you think diversity in the workplace is so important?
Diversity is important to ensure that we have different perspectives to our own when working on projects. This is particularly important when undertaking design work, as people from different backgrounds to myself can often offer ideas that I would not have thought about in my work. It’s often useful to have other people’s opinions and be able to workshop ideas with others to find creative and robust solutions within the designs we complete.
What is the most important piece of advice that you have been given that has helped you in your career?
‘Say yes and figure the rest out later’ – this was a piece of advice I was given as a graduate. Accepting a new challenge can be daunting, but the feeling of accomplishment when you have completed the work is definitely worth it. I have always been lucky that I have an amazing team to support me through my career, help me learn new skills and encourage creativity, which helps me feel more confident when accepting new challenges.
If you could have dinner with three inspirational women, dead or alive, who would they be and why?
Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock – When I was in school, we went to a talk by Dr Maggie which I found incredibly inspirational as a young girl wanting to pursue a career in STEM. She was incredibly passionate about space and science which encouraged me to continue to pursue these subjects through my education.
Bernie Collins – I often watch the Formula 1 with my husband of a weekend, which Bernie sometimes presents. She was a former strategy engineer at Aston Martin racing and provides useful insight for someone like me, who doesn’t have much understanding of the sport, into the technical, strategy and engineering aspects of the racing. I find her passion and understanding of F1, coupled with her ability to communicate very technical details, inspiring for my own work and how I wish to convey my understanding of my work to others.
Alison Hammond – Alison Hammond is best known for presenting ITV’s This Morning, and a fellow Brummie that would not only be great entertainment at dinner, but also has overcome adversity to become a national icon. Her ‘say yes and figure it out later’ attitude is an approach I often take when accepting new challenges in my career. She hasn’t let the background she has come from or the challenges that she has faced hold her back or dampen her spirit, which I find inspiring.
Annabel Keegan, Associate Director
Annabel is an Associate Director at PJA and leads our Place team based in our Birmingham office.
She is a qualified urban designer and transport planner with a background in architecture and has over 20 years’ practical experience. She has a passion for developing public realm masterplans, and her multi-discipline background allows her to work creatively to deliver high quality and innovative design solutions.
She is a member of numerous national design review panels and is an experienced Building for a Healthy Life assessor.
What is one of your proudest achievements?
After narrowly missing out on a first in my undergraduate Architecture degree I was determined to get a top mark for my MA Urban Design. I worked really hard whilst also working full time and my final dissertation was given the highest score of any at the School of Architecture – it is still the highest marked submission over 15 years on!
Why do you think diversity in the workplace is so important?
I think diverse teams spark innovation and a sense of fun in the workplace. Teams which more accurately reflect the world in which we live are also very important as they can help to market the company to a wider group of customers and change how it is perceived by others.
What is the most important piece of advice that you have been given that has helped you in your career?
It was something my mum said to me when I was studying for my A-Levels. She said, “Just because you are clever enough to go to university, it doesn’t mean you have to. Do something you love; you’ll be doing in for a long time and you need to be able to find the fun in whatever career you choose.” As a result, I changed subject right at the last minute and ended up where I am today.
She also said when you have your own house you can have whatever pets you want, you can even have a giraffe if you have big enough garden. Sage advice! (I think she was joking).
If you could have dinner with three inspirational women, dead or alive, who would they be and why?
My first lady is Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel – the free spirit and founder of the Chanel brand. I love fashion and who wouldn’t want to meet this revolutionary style icon and businesswoman who was famously quoted as saying “A woman should be two things, classy and fabulous”.
My second lady is Amelia Earhart, the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. I imagine her tales of adventure must be awe-inspiring.
The third lady is my godmother Beverley who sadly died a few years ago. She was a gifted inventor, a fierce advocate for human rights who took the UK Government to the European Court of Justice and won, a general ‘fun bringer’ to any party, and one of my best friends. We would just need to make sure that dinner wasn’t served on square plates!
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