Historically the nuclear industry has been a sector widely dominated by a male workforce and, although attitudes and perceptions are gradually changing, in 2016 women still only filled around 20% of all nuclear roles in the UK.

Eadon Consulting’s company ethos is to continue to build a diverse and talented workforce.

The bespoke design consultancy, who are based at the prestigious Advanced Manufacturing Park in South Yorkshire, work across a wide variety of sectors. With many high profile and award winning projects to their name, they have forged a solid reputation as a ‘safe pair of hands’ in the industry and as such have seen an influx of nuclear design and analysis projects heading their way.

The most recent of these projects sees two of Eadon’s female engineers take leading roles in the design and design substantiation of a piece of Class 1 high integrity nuclear mechanical handling equipment.  Consuelo Bottamedi developed an FE model of the equipment using ANSYS APDL and applied the normal, fault and seismic response spectrum analysis load cases, while her colleague Sarah Lee delivered the detailed design substantiation calculations and detailed manufacturing drawings for the civil interfaces.

Principal Engineer Sarah Lee, is a regular attendee of the Women in Nuclear events: “For me personally as a female engineer these events are really enjoyable and play an important role in the continuing push to address the gender imbalance within the nuclear sector.  Since this is an area that I’m passionate about, it’s great to attend the workshops and be surrounded by so many likeminded, inspirational women.

“I feel that it’s becoming more obvious that things are changing for a number of reasons. It’s been widely reported that the nuclear sector in particular has an ageing work force, meaning there are gaps opening up for younger people entering the industry. It is really important that there is a continued emphasis on providing information in schools and universities to everyone, especially girls. The emergence of many new female figureheads over the past few years has not only helped highlight more defined roles – within this notoriously secretive sector – but has also provided a new generation with more relatable role models.

“Nuclear has always been a fairly divisive subject and continues to battle a social and political stigma. By breaking down these barriers and attempting to outline the difference, particularly between civil and defence areas, I think the industry can gradually start reaching a female group that traditionally has been difficult to engage.

“Working at Eadon has provided me with opportunities to work on a range of nuclear projects and has also given me a platform to talk about my work. Attendance at events gives me the opportunity to network with peers, increase my understanding of the nuclear sector and raise Eadon’s profile.

“For me, nuclear work provides interesting technical challenges, which not only nurture and grow my capabilities within the field but also provide me with a range of transferrable skills; always useful when you are working in a diverse and dynamic consultancy like Eadon.”

Looking further into 2017, Eadon, who are always willing to support and ensure the nuclear industry continues to promote and nurture diversity amongst its workforce, are happy to be growing and encouraging a female led nuclear team. With many other upcoming projects, they are looking forward to a prosperous new chapter supported by their ever-growing work force.