How we can #BreakTheBias through social value?

We often think about gender bias as an attitude. But let's talk about how it's embedded into our places, spaces and big issues—and what happens when we start adding Social Value (SV) into everything we do. This is an article originally written for our SNC-Lavalin talent acquisition team?on International Women's Day, when I was interviewed about pushing back gender bias and inequality through SV.

Vicky, how would you describe SV to someone who has never heard of it before?

It's the social, economic and environmental change created through positive action. This sounds really broad. It recognizes that creating green spaces in communities can benefit people's health and well-being. Or providing employment opportunities not only brings economic income but also a sense of self-worth, a positive outlook on the future, and raises the aspirations of others in a family or community. Although broad, the most important thing is how people experience that change.

Your current focus is on digital responses to assessing and communicating client value. What does this mean?

There are several techniques and tools for calculating value. Some of these are digital tools for capturing, counting and communicating the social value actions that have taken place. Others use formulae that express the outcomes of the actions as a monetary proxy.?

This is how companies claim that they've created millions of pounds worth of social value for communities. These techniques have grown up in different disciplines—often different branches of Economics. They include Gross Value Added, Local Economic Multipliers, Natural Capital Valuation, 6 Capitals Accounting, the list goes on.?

The exciting opportunity here is to develop new combined methods and the digital platform being developed within the Environment Practice, to bring these techniques together. Then we can quickly articulate these values and model the scenarios that different types of development bring.

What does International Women's Day's theme #BreakTheBias inspire in you?

Inclusion demands we recognize the value of all people, regardless of difference. And we don't just count the number of people from different groups, we provide opportunities for people to participate, engage and co-create.?

So #BreakTheBias doesn't just mean ensuring women are equally represented in our business by number. It means ensuring that we have provided the opportunity for women to participate in defining the future of our business, leading our people, designing our services and developing our technical knowledge.

What has been your experience of gender bias throughout your career?

There have been the odd questionable remarks. I was the only woman on a team going to be interviewed, and the most senior male colleague joked, "Can't you walk into the room, untie your hair and swoosh it around?" Inappropriate and awkward!?

The toughest challenges have been juggling childcare. The pre-planning required to get back from meetings in time to even see your kids in the evening, let alone pick them up from nursery or school, make the tea and take care of them.?

The worst is when the meeting is in our economic centre, London, and home is north of Manchester. Even the most considerate and accommodating meeting organizer is hard-pushed to make that a child-friendly commute.?

I've often felt excluded because I can't make that breakfast networking session, or after-work drinks, because of my home commitments. It has often felt like being a primary carer has been career-limiting. These aren't necessarily deliberate acts of discrimination; they're just some of the challenges I’ve faced.?

But my experience at Atkins has been brilliant. It's an organization with a laser focus on equality, inclusivity and integrity. There are extremely high standards, and everyone is expected to uphold them. This includes being mindful about how we ensure everyone is given the opportunity to make a difference.

How can we #BreakTheBias through buildings and infrastructure?

A young female member of staff confided in me that she had been on a massive construction site and on her period, and she felt really sick. When she walked into the canteen, filled with hundreds of predominantly male workers who had been doing physical work (think sweat and testosterone), she started to retch.?

She needed the rest facilities urgently. These were kept locked, and to get there, she had to have an escort. The experience meant she had a lot of explaining to do about what is still a very personal, if not a taboo, subject.?

I have reflected on that recently. We've become much better at talking about and accommodating menopause. I think we should turn the same attention to menstruation. Let's challenge ourselves to make it as easy as possible for women to access wash facilities and speak out about how it affects them.?

I think lots of us will have been in the position of thinking, "I've been sitting down for so long. When I get up, will there be blood on my skirt?" Do we really want that anxiety to be a woman's preoccupation in the workplace?

How can we #BreakTheBias through our work on the environment?

A quick refresh on the UN Sustainable Development Goals reminds us of the inter-relationship between gender equality and sustainable development. Joe McCarthy explains:?

"Women are more likely to live in poverty than men, have less access to basic human rights like the ability to freely move and acquire land, and face systematic violence that escalates during periods of instability."

In this case, that instability is the trauma caused by extreme weather events that damage homes and agriculture. Women take responsibility for clearing up and rebuilding homes and communities—or face being displaced altogether. They also take responsibility for providing water and food, which becomes more time-consuming and disruptive in extreme weather events.?

It can mean leaving education or employment or facing even worse exploitation if they lose their homes and livelihood altogether. Atkins does some amazing international development work to help build sustainable communities in the developing world. We have just renewed our support for the disaster relief charity RedR to lean in and support with humanitarian assistance.????

How can we #BreakTheBias through business and education?

Social value activities, such as school visits, inspirational talks, careers fairs and STEM activities, are often under-valued by clients that want employers to create new jobs or contract with small, local suppliers. But these activities are invaluable.?

They challenge girls' views at primary school age about what are suitable jobs for women. They raise the aspirations of girls in disadvantaged communities by providing role models and modelling women who have careers and families. And they shine a light on roles and industries that young women don't know anything about, like surveying; in construction and engineering.

The environment practice is blessed because women are attracted to environmental careers. Our challenge is to ensure that those women progress through the practice in management and technical leadership roles. We tackle that by working hard to ensure that our talent gets development opportunities and actively encourage people to take them.

On International Women's Day, what's your advice on using SV to #BreakTheBias?

Any actions that enable the involvement and engagement of women, young and old, are positive. So sharing our experience and learning from others is essential. When we tell our story, whoever we are, we allow others to learn from our experience. And it just might propel them ahead of us in future.?

So whether we post, blog, talk (to one or many), write or cast, network or volunteer, we should feel confident to talk about our experiences as women. That might be the thing that helps other women succeed where we have struggled. And we might learn something that helps us on our journey.

Gender equality is part of our business strategy, and we're proud to be on The Times Top 50 Employers for Women. Read about how we invest in our female employees at all career stages.

Dr. Vicky Hutchinson is director of the environment practice at Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group. Her talented teams respond to challenges from tackling the climate crisis and delivering a low carbon future to shaping SV through buildings, infrastructure and surrounding green spaces. She's also the champion of Atkins' Social Value framework, which has the principle of inclusivity at its heart.?