Why International Women’s Day is a landmark in the Ricardo calendar

We must never stop striving for diversity, equity and inclusion says Claire Ruggiero, UK Consulting Business Manager & Head of Strategy and Service Development, Ricardo Rail

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘breaking the bias’, as we strive for a world free of stereotypes and discrimination and that is diverse, equitable and inclusive.

The Day enables us to celebrate the brilliant women already within Ricardo. It is also an opportunity to reflect on how we create pathways into engineering for those from different backgrounds or with non-traditional life and career experiences. Engineering should not be closed off to those who decide not to go to university, for example, or don’t have access to professional networks.

My education and career path were relatively conventional. I gained a Masters then a PhD in Chemical Engineering, which is a different study area to many of my engineering colleagues at Ricardo. My first jobs were in risk and safety within high-hazard industries such as oil, gas and petrochemicals. I transferred these skills into the defence and nuclear sectors then moved into the rail industry. I joined Ricardo Rail around 18 months ago as Head of Strategy and Service Development and have since taken more of an operational role as UK Consulting Business Manager.

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