Celebrating inspiring women from our county during Worcestershire Women’s Week

The campaign falls in line with International Women’s Day, which was on 8 March and will look at some of the women from our county’s history; women who are thriving and inspiring in Worcestershire today across the whole of the week.

To mark the occasion, we sat down with two inspirational Worcestershire women to discuss their outstanding achievements. Here are their stories:

Great British Para-Swimmer and European and Double Paralympic Silver Medallist, Rebecca Redfern

Not only has Rebecca accomplished incredible achievements in her professional career, but she also won her second Silver medal at the Paralympics in Tokyo, just 13 months after giving birth to her baby boy.

Speaking about how she got involved in swimming, Rebecca said: “I learned to swim when I was little as my mum has a phobia of water, so she wanted me and my brothers to be safe and confident around water, I think I took it to the extreme! I have 3 brothers who are all really competitive too, so my family have played a massive part in my swimming journey.”

When asked whether she ever faced forms of stigmas due to being a female and how she handled those, Rebecca shared:

“I have, whilst growing up competing with my brothers I was often unfairly compared with them, but I tend to ignore anything that is said. I am determined to prove people wrong which ignites my competitive fire.”

When asked what advice she would give other females, wanting to compete at such a high calibre, Rebecca said:

“I would tell them to set small targets and celebrate those, believe in yourself, accept there will be good days and bad days and don't be too hard on yourself.”

Engineering Director, Sam Uren

Now a Chartered Civil Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Sam found her passion for engineering after taking part in a school project to repurpose Battersea Power Station.

When asked about her proudest achievement, Sam reflected: “One of my proudest achievements has to be being at Worcestershire Parkway on the day it opened and seeing customers using it. It went on to win three Institution of Civil Engineers awards, including the prestigious “Overall Project of the Year.” I put my heart and soul into all the projects I work on, but this was a particular proud moment that stood out to me.” 

When talking about any gender stigmas in the industry, Sam commented: “The industry is so much more accessible to women today. I was one of three women out of a group of 35 studying Civil Engineering at Aston University, after which I went to work for Mott MacDonald becoming the only graduate in my first year to be taken on by the company. I occasionally get ‘unconscious’ bias – but it’s never been something that has bothered me because we’re all united by the same thing and that’s to create the future!”

Talking about what advice she would offer to Women looking to pursue a career in engineering, Sam said:

“Do it! I encourage everyone to find out more about the subject. I often do presentations with an aim to dispel myths about engineering. It’s a really great career and it’s certainly not all hard hats and high vis!”

To find out more about International Women’s Day, from earlier this week, please visit International Women's Day 2022 (internationalwomensday.com)