Celebrating our female Engineers

Engineering is typically viewed as men's work - so as it's International Women's Day, we're celebrating the changing times and saying 'women can do it too'!

Suzanne Park-Davies started with the former Midlands Electricity Board after being inspired by her father, who is an Electrical Engineer.She now works as a Team Manager in the Gloucester Forest area.

“It really interested me as a child spending time with my dear old dad at work. I later started my working life in the drawing office as a draughtsperson and have developed my career in the electricity distribution business for the last 29 years, which has given me a thorough knowledge of the industry,” said Suzanne.

“My role covers a number of areas. I’m a people manager, looking to get the best out of my team of technicians, planners, linesmen and jointers; a financial manager making sure customers get best value for their money; a network manager, checking that it is running at maximum capability, that faults are restored quickly and that we invest in our network to improve continuity of supply. I am also a customer service manager and I take pride in how my team and I deal with our customers. We try to put ourselves into their situation and listen to their needs,” she said.

Suzanne would definitely recommend an engineering career for women.

“Being a woman in the electrical distribution industry is brilliant. It’s hard work with a need to prove yourself, but this just makes you a stronger person. I love my job. Every day presents a different challenge. It’s not a typical nine till five job and you have to be ready for anything at any time, but I think this is the best job and I could not see myself doing anything else,” said Suzanne.