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#IWD2025 was celebrated in style with a joint gathering of members of London Women in Engineering (LoWEG) and Female Local Authority Road Engagement (FLARE) hosted by GeoPlace and Brightly at Geovation, Sutton Yard, London.
50 members enjoyed lunch and networking before sitting down for lively and informative presentations from Hannah Winstanley (Brightly), Donna Kelly (London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham), and guests Cindy Okoronkwo and Layla Crowe.
Cindy talked through 10 winning strategies to thrive at work and took some great questions from the audience. Cindy is founder of The Win, a certified Career Strategist & Self-Advocacy Coach, and a seasoned HR expert. You’ll find Cindy on LinkedIn.
After a networking break and a challenge to make new contacts, Layla Crowe, head of legal at Ringway Jacobs walked us through the #IamRemarkable initiative. Started in 2016, it’s a global movement empowering everyone to celebrate achievements based on the statement that it’s not bragging if it’s based on facts. Everyone found it surprisingly difficult to find three “#IamRemarkable because…” statements but all were celebrated! Find out more here.
I had the great pleasure of hosting the group on behalf of GeoPlace. As always at these events, there was a huge energy in the room and the alliance across all sectors of highways and engineering is so very welcome. The day ended with a customary group photo, a collection of clothing donations for the Dress for Success campaign and further networking.
LoWEG was started in 2022 by four women from a cross-section of street works in London and now has a membership of over 200. Founding members Donna Kelly from London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham; Christy Bowman, Cadent Gas; Justine Treanor, GasFlo Utilities; and Gloria Adebayo, Cadent Gas work tirelessly behind the scenes to run quarterly meet ups with engaging speakers and hot topics and to maintain a LinkedIn presence. A feature of every session is a Safe to Speak Up session - questions are submitted via Slido and the group share advice and support on workplace situations.
FLARE was started in 2024 by Brightly General Manager (UK) Hannah Winstanley, bringing together women in highways departments across the country. Meetings are held regularly online, and the group advocates for self-development, mentoring and networking. Attendees regularly come away with a renewed value of self-worth and appreciation.
Membership of LoWEG and FLARE are free, and the groups offer a range of online and in-person meetings and networking opportunities throughout the year.
You can also sign up to attend another event at the Geovation Hub on 20th March at 5pm, 'Success and setbacks; the real stories of women founders'
Contact [email protected] for LoWEG or visit www.flarehighwaysgroup.co.uk/about to find out more.
