Member Article

North East Engineer wins National First Women Award

A North East woman has been recognised as a ‘glass ceiling breaker’ at a national ceremony in London. Jane Atkinson, Assistant Vice-President and General Manager at Utilities Business, SembCorp Utilities was awarded the CBI/Real Business First Woman Award for Manufacturing at a gala awards ceremony at the London Marriott Grosvenor Square on Tuesday.

The awards, organised by the CBI and Real Business magazine in association with Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets, celebrate women who are trailblazers and pioneers in business. The judges said Jane had broken barriers in manufacturing: she was the first woman in the world to run a blast furnace (at Redcar) and the first woman to manage the Wilton Power Station. She is currently helping to commission the first “green energy” biomass boiler operation in the UK.

Sarah Green, Regional Director of CBI North East, said: “It is fantastic that Jane has received national recognition for her achievements. Not only is she brilliant at what she does but she is also an excellent role model demonstrating to young people that there are fantastic career opportunities for women in engineering and manufacturing. Celebrating our region’s successes nationally is key to changing perceptions of our region and I am delighted that the CBI is playing its part in promoting the fantastic businesses and business people within the North East on the national stage.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .