TIDMGHH
Gooch & Housego PLC
18 August 2021
For immediate release 18 August 2021
RNS REACH
Gooch & Housego PLC
("G&H" or the "Company")
Commitment to Diversity underpins Competitive Advantage
Gooch & Housego PLC (AIM: GHH), the specialist manufacturer
of photonic components & systems, is committed to diversity in
its recruitment initiatives, which include working with
universities on postgraduate placements, advising on doctoral
programs and promoting science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) careers in schools. The Company recently
published a paper, International Women in Engineering Day 2021:
G&H Group Engineers Speak Out, which has focused particular
attention on the contribution talented women make to the
business.
More women are working in core STEM careers now than at any time
in the past. Nonetheless, according to the Women's Engineering
Society, the overall retention rate of female science, engineering
and technology (SET) graduates is far lower than that of males, 25%
compared with 40%. The situation, which contributes to the relative
lack of women in senior positions in SET professions, is described
as "the leaky pipeline".
Louise Evans, a Non-Executive Director at G&H and Chair of
the Audit Committee, believes that a broad view of diversity is
required to build successful organisations. Louise comments: "It's
the talent pipeline generally that needs to be the focus. It's not
simply gender diversity that needs to be addressed, but engineering
needs to welcome individuals from a wide array of backgrounds,
including ethnic minorities, as well."
Louise, who has a portfolio of five NED positions with
transformational engineering-led businesses, as well as devoting
her time to charities and voluntary roles, joined the Board at
G&H just over one year ago. A qualified accountant, Louise was
Group CFO for racing giant Williams for more than a decade. Having
also spent time in the ship broking industry, she is well-versed
working in male-dominated industries.
Louise explains: "Working for Williams, I was in charge of
finance for the F1 team but also other advanced engineering
companies within the group. What I saw at Williams though, through
and through, was the desire to win which bred meritocracy. It
didn't matter if you were male or female, what race or background
you had - if you could make that car go faster on a Sunday
afternoon, you were on the team."
This boils down to talent. Talent acquisition is an ongoing
concern for the engineering sector. In Louise's view a key way to
seek new talent is through diversity. As well as representing a new
talent pool, it limits the risk of 'group think' and broadens
horizons by challenging ideas and opinions.
Importantly, we need to engage children at a younger age, girls
in particular. There continues to be a real disconnect between
girls and engineering subjects at school. Without removing this
stigma, we will always limit the talent we have access to. The more
we encourage young children and girls to go down the route of
science and maths, the better the future of engineering will
be.
G&H is becoming increasingly involved in STEM events and
currently do a lot of work with universities, promoting studies in
engineering and bringing academia across to commercial. This is not
specifically geared at girls or women, but more broadly at
talent.
"It's one of the reasons I joined the Board at G&H," Louise
confirms. "I wanted to work with G&H because I liked all the
people I met. I also liked the fact that there is no specific
diversity agenda at G&H, the company is simply inclusive and
looking for the right people to do the right job regardless of
gender, race or social standing."
Louise explains that there is a difference between being in the
room and actually having a voice in that room. "At G&H I'm
heard. Yes, I'm the only female on the Board but I wasn't hired
because I'm female, it was because I was the right person for the
job. Recruiting a woman for the G&H Board wasn't a box-ticking
exercise and I'm not a token."
G&H is changing the world with photonics, applications for
which can be found everywhere, from under the ocean to outer space
- its growth potential is very significant. Photonics is the
science of light and it plays a major role in industrial and
telecommunications, aerospace and defence and life sciences. The
broad scope for photonics applications brings with it its own
challenges. With such diverse opportunities, one of the barriers to
success is finding amazing people to deliver these solutions.
"G&H is an incredible organisation with clever people doing
very clever things. It's cutting-edge and G&H photonic
technologies are literally changing the world in which we live. The
company is in an era of positive transformation but to be truly
successful, we need to deploy the best opportunities at the best
time with the best teams," Louise says.
We're in a changing world. At G&H we have looked at new ways
of working to be more productive, efficient and sustainable to
include operational changes, digital solutions and the introduction
of solar energy on our sites. Environmental, Social and Governance
(ESG) is a key driver in the business, but the people are always
core to any success. Access to great people and diversity will be
the key differentiator moving forwards.
Louise concludes: "We need access to talent pools that
competitors don't have or are not considering. Talent is wasted
because people don't look at wider pools. Whatever lens you put on
this, it always comes back to the same thing: diversity equals
competitive advantage."
For further information
contact: -
Gooch & Housego
Mark Webster/Chris Jewell PLC 01460 256440
Mark Court/Sophie Wills Buchanan 020 7466 5000
Chris Baird/ Patrick Robb/
David Anderson Investec Bank plc 020 7597 5970
Notes to editors
1. Gooch & Housego is a photonics technology business
headquartered in Ilminster, Somerset, UK with operations in the USA
and Europe. A world leader in its field, the company researches,
designs, engineers and manufactures advanced photonic systems,
components and instrumentation for applications in the Aerospace
& Defence, Industrial, Life Sciences and Scientific Research
sectors. World leading design, development and manufacturing
expertise is offered across a broad range of complementary
technologies.
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