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As we celebrate International Women’s Day and embrace this year’s theme of ‘Inspire Inclusion’, we’d like to take this opportunity to shine a spotlight on our interim CEO, Joanne Fyrett, NEPIC’s first female leader in its 20-year history.

The Process Industry in the North East typically has been male led, with women only making up 33.2% of the workforce, but here Joanne discusses how the industry is creating a more balanced future:

“I have seen a huge shift in the sector over the last few years, what was once a heavily male dominated industry is now seeing more and more women taking up roles, and companies that are helping them to do that.

“NEPIC is proud to support young women in our industry, over the past three years we’ve had 11 women win prestigious accolades at our Annual Industry Awards under our apprenticeship and young achiever categories alone, with many in their early 20s.

“I don’t take lightly that I’m the first female interim CEO at NEPIC, I like to think of it as breaking the mould, but I’m proud to represent an organisation that is creating change and paving the way in female representation and providing an equal voice, our board has a 50/50 female, male split, and women are involved at every level of the business which gives us a balanced perspective.

“Not only that, but we are continuing to see an increased number of local organisations and NEPIC members setting up initiatives to give women in our industry more opportunities, including women’s networks, young leader programmes and apprentice peer networking.”

Joanne gives up her time to support young people in the region, she is a trustee of the MFC Foundation, has previously worked with the Assist Women’s Network and was a speaker on The Endeavour Partnership’s International Women’s Day panel in 2022.

Joanne understands the struggles women experience to succeed in their careers, having always worked in typically male heavy industries she appreciates the long journey it can sometimes take to get to where you want to be:

“Everyone’s journey is different, we all have our own struggles and our own pathways to success in the industry. I remember a time when I was trying to juggle everything, studying part time while working, and also trying to raise a family.

“This is why I feel it’s important we share our stories, be role models for others and give back to the younger generation to inspire them to achieve their dreams.”