The need for a more diverse health & safety workforce has been one of the key talking points within the profession for several years. Women in Health and Safety is a thriving network supporting women in health & safety through free online and in-person get-togethers.
Safety & Health Expo is a fantastic opportunity for members and prospective members to meet and share advice and experiences and this year the second day of the event (Wednesday 20 June) will play host to an afternoon of talks and seminars geared towards supporting women in the sector.
Nicky Moffat CBE, formerly the highest ranking female officer in the British Army, will kick off the afternoon with her inspirational talk in the Keynote Theatre. Moffat, who you can find more about in SHP’s profile piece, rose to the rank of Brigadier and took on leadership roles in personnel and training departments. Her talk will touch on her experience of making traditionally male-dominated work environments more inclusive and discuss strong leadership, particularly career development for women in leadership.
Straight after Nicky Moffat in the Keynote Arena, Women in Health and Safety will be hosting a workshop on presentation skills led by public speaking guru Maryam Pasha, Public Speaking and Pitch Coach at X Equals Productions and the Director and Curator at TEDxLondon. Maryam worked in the human rights and charity sector for 10 years and works with corporates, startups, charities and individuals to help bring their ideas to life through events production and speaker and pitch coaching.
In the lead-up to the event, Maryam will be coaching the six successful applicants to the Soapbox Challenge, who will each get the opportunity to speak for three minutes on the health & safety topic of their choice during this session.
The session will end with 2017 Women in Health and Safety Chair Heather Beach (Managing Director of The Healthy Work Company) handing over to the 2018 Chair and introducing the group’s new committee.
Over in the Networking Forum, the group will be holding its second speed mentoring session, available to everyone (not just women). The session gives those taking early steps in the health & safety profession the chance to chat to a range of mentors for 10 minutes each about the industry and career development.
Women in Health and Safety ran its first Speed Mentoring session at its Christmas party, successfully matching 12 pairs of mentors and mentees who have now been working with each other for six months. Don’t miss this chance to gain (or give) valuable insight into career progression, all you need to do to take part is turn up to the session.
Louise Hosking, Vice-President of IOSH, has been actively promoting E&D policies across the health & safety sector, and at IOSH has helped make a more equal and diverse profession part of the organisation’s WORK 2022 strategy.
Closing out the day in the Professional Development Theatre, Louise will be discussing why these policies are so important, how they can have a positive influence on wellbeing, and where to start with implementing them among organisations.
Wednesday 20 June
The full programme for the Safety & Health Expo can be found on the Safety & Health Expo 2018 website.
