Nine ambitious women have joined the Rail Business Daily (RBD) team in the last two months – to build their exciting and varied careers in rail at the rapidly-growing company.
The new team members bring a wealth of knowledge to the UK’s biggest rail business growth and profile enhancement business, with backgrounds in everything from marketing and journalism to sales, HR and recruitment.
Within their individual roles, the new team members will be fundamental in helping the business – which includes RBD Advisory, RBD Marketing Services, RBD News (including Rail Business Daily, Rail Insider, Rail Director and Inside Track), RBD Community and RBD Rail Recruiter – to continue to deliver a great service to the organisation’s growing customer base.
The determined women have all also signed up as members of Women In Rail, which today celebrates ten years of delivering progress in the industry.
It comes at a time when there has been a real push and notable increase in women joining the sector, however, the number of women is still too low within the industry.
Despite the rail industry being a massive employer in the UK, with approximately 85,000 people working nationwide, only 14,000 are female.*
David McLoughlin, Business Daily Group’s CEO, said the new appointments underline RBD’s commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce.
He said: “Having recruited 13 new people so far in 2022 across the business, the latest nine appointments are great news for the company and the industry and underlines our commitment to supporting the industry.
“They join at a very exciting time for us as we accelerate our strategy to help organisations in UK rail to grow and prosper.
“At RBD, we are keen to encourage and support more women to get involved in a career in rail and are proud to have a business which not only strives for a better gender balance, but is also a diverse and inclusive employer, offering equal opportunities regardless of religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Our aim is to be a great place to work so that we are always a great place to do business with.”
Overall, women now make up around 50 per cent of the RBD team in varied roles from marketing and finance to sales, including in senior management.
“We know that creating a diverse workforce is crucial if we are to be a fully-performing industry,” added David.
“There is a lot of work going on across the industry to create a better gender balance, and RBD is proud to lead by example by encouraging more women to join UK rail.
“This will be achieved by investing in recruitment, creating an inclusive workplace and supporting development and progression, for example by adopting flexible working practices.”
While some of the latest recruits are completely new to rail, others have held a successful career in rail for many years.
Rachael Dean, Head of Marketing, admits she never imagined a career in rail, having entered the industry from a background in retail marketing, but says she’s found the industry to be welcoming and nurturing.
She said: “If you’d have told me five years ago I would be working in rail today, I would have laughed.
“I was concerned I might not be taken seriously by people in the industry. However, while rail and retail might be worlds apart, the fundamental marketing principles remain the same and I am really enjoying helping people across the industry with their profile enhancement activity.
“The rail industry is incredibly friendly and I immediately felt welcomed and respected as a marketing professional upon entering the industry.”
Diane Cooper, RBD’s new Business Development Director, has had a varied career in rail since 2005.
She said: “During the first year of working within the rail industry, I found it very complex, but once I got to understand it, I had the opportunity to relate my knowledge to others.
“The rail industry has a lot to offer for women, there are many opportunities. Although you would think there are more jobs for men, you will find that women are actually taking on more and more roles.”
Campaigns and Content Manager Joanna Lovell said: “RBD is such a diverse business, from marketing and news to sales and events.
“This means no two days are the same, which is perfect for myself – coming from a fast-paced background in journalism.”
The new appointments almost complete a full team at RBD, with 10 current live vacancies – including three copywriters, two sales roles and a vacancy for a Client Relationship Manager.
*Source: Future Rail, Women in Rail, Getting gender diversity back on track
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