Features / Stagecoach
‘Good mentors are important to improve diversity in a male dominated workplace’
Rachel Geliamassi, managing director at Stagecoach West, is passionate about the bus company increasing its number of female drivers.
Currently, its female drivers make up around 14 per cent of its workforce which Rachel says is “far from striking the best balance.”
Rachel, whose dad worked as a bus driver and her mum a bus conductress for Stagecoach, believes that having fellow female role models can have a positive impact in making the transport industry appealing for women.
Rachel, who joined Stagecoach Bus on its graduate training scheme 14 years ago, is passionate about the bus company increasing its number of female drivers – photo: Stagecoach West
Rachel recently returned to Stagecoach’s engineering department to find out what kind of mentoring and support the female apprentices need.
She said: “Good mentors are so important to improve diversity in a male dominated workplace, we need to give our mentors the tools to support diverse talent in the right way.
“For example, help a female engineering apprentice with ‘let me show you the best approach’ to carry out this process, rather than ‘let me do it for you.’
Rachel, who joined Stagecoach Bus on its graduate training scheme 14 years ago, believes there is room for improvement for how her sector can appeal to other women and that having role models is key.
“It’s about having as many role models as possible who can share the fact that this sector is all about people,” she added.
“If we get people on buses and out of cars, we’re decarbonising the country, and this is a pretty powerful and significant industry to be in in terms of the vision and the results.”
As an ‘initiative member’ of Business West, Rachel will be speaking on Business West’s panel event on International Women’s Day – which will focus on embracing equity in business.
She added: “In many sectors we have seen diversity evolve at a slow pace and as a result there are significantly more men in leading roles.
“Evidence has shown that we are inclined to pass knowledge on to proteges, who are just like we are.
“What we want to see happen in business, is that we want to disrupt what has ordinarily occurred, because we want to try and level that playing field.
“In transport, and other industries, the way to break down these barriers is through listening and actually speaking to women to find out what they perceive the barriers to be because sometimes we can get caught in a trap as business leaders of thinking we have all the answers.”
Main photo: Business West
Read next:
- Event being held to celebrate women in business
- First Bus operations manager urges people to treat each other with kindness
- London-style frequency to be introduced on key bus routes
- 1,500 bus journeys a week to be cancelled due to driver shortages
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