NICOLE Paterson, chief executive and accountable officer at Scottish Environment Protection Agency, features in a new exhibition on display at the HQ of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in London.
The exhibition forms part of the ICE’s initiative to increase the number of its female fellows, ICE Connects: Women in Fellowship.
Nicole is one of 16 women from around the world to have been chosen to share their stories. Her civil engineering background has carried her through a hugely varied career which has included housing, waste and facilities management, risk and resilience, highways, structures, land and many other critical areas for public service.
She now leads an organisation that has statutory responsibility for protecting and enhancing Scotland’s environment, with a focus on effective regulation and flood risk warning.
Nicole said, “Time, experience and seniority have given me an opportunity to positively impact my and other people’s careers as a leader. I now lead environmental regulation for a whole country, an incredible privilege. But what struck me right from the start of my career was that for people to be able to aspire to something, they must be able to see it.
“Being a female ICE Fellow is a key part of my identity. It means I’m better able to show that women can be civil engineers; that here is a fabulous career, with all its twists and turns, different routes and experiences, that my initial training has enabled me to have.”
Fellowship recognises those who have made outstanding contributions to civil and infrastructure engineering and society.
Historically, women have made up a small percentage of the Fellowship portion of membership, despite the overall number of female ICE members increasing. ICE Connects: Women in Fellowship has already achieved success, growing its number by more than 45% since it started in 2021.
By showcasing the variety of careers possible within civil engineering, the exhibition aims to highlight the challenging and rewarding routes into the profession, as well as the opportunities available.
The exhibition, in the main hall at One Great George Street, takes the form of a banner display. Each banner features a different female Fellow, a quote from her, and a QR code that links to a more detailed feature story on the ICE website. As one of the first four women featured, Nicole’s banner will be on display from 16 September to 7 October 2024.
ICE director of regions Jenny Green, who spearheads the ICE Connects: Women in Fellowship programme, said, “We set up the initiative to address the enduring misconceptions of who and what a ‘typical’ civil engineer at the highest level is. The women featured in this exhibition come from a broad range of backgrounds and have wide-ranging expertise. Their collective experience highlights the diverse careers within civil and infrastructure engineering, and the importance of celebrating professional accomplishments.
“The profession needs to attract and retain the best talent to tackle the challenges society faces. We want to highlight individual stories that encourage more women to consider becoming civil engineers or pursue careers in infrastructure, and to encourage them to aspire to the highest levels – it may be more achievable than they think!”
