Women’s History Month: Samyutha Balasubramaniam

To celebrate Women’s History Month, we are sharing a series of articles on GBRTT women who are making change in the industry.

This week we speak to Samyutha Balasubramaniam, who is the Head of Customer Experience Design & Transformation, which is part of the Customer team at GBRTT.

Samyutha is on secondment from Great Western Railway, where she is Head of Customer Experience.

Hi Sam. Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m passionate about creating an inclusive, collaborative railway which serves customers and the people who power it and doing it in a human centred way that puts the user first.

I’m a design geek and love bringing people together and harnessing ideas to solve knotty problems. I live in Bristol with my husband and very spoiled dog, Obi, and spend my free time at my allotment, growing a lot of our food.

What is your proudest achievement?

I transitioned from a career that wasn’t inspiring me (I used to be a dentist – true story) and found my way to a job and industry that constantly challenges me and keeps me interested. I worked my way up from being a dispatcher in London Paddington to Head of Department in about 6 years and have found the fulfilment and sense of purpose I was looking for.

I couldn’t have done this without the support of my organisation, some great people and Women in Rail – I was also very proud to Chair the Women in Rail South Group, as well as a stint leading GWR’s gender equality group.

What is your role in the organisation that you are seconded from?

I am Head of Customer Experience at Great Western Railway, a role I love as no two days are the same, and I can see the difference I make to customers on a daily basis.

Why did you choose to join GBRTT?

The opportunity to be part of creating some much-needed change and a lasting legacy was too good to pass up!

This year's theme for Women's History Month is 'Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories' and the theme for IWD was #EmbraceEquity. What does Embracing Equity mean to you?

It goes back to treating everyone as an individual, and building that ethos into every interaction, policy, process, organisation and culture – what does that person need to thrive and achieve their full potential? How can we build that into everything we do?

Which women inspire you the most?

The women all over the world and through history who’ve had the courage of their convictions, to go out and make change happen, who celebrate their humanity and inspire through kindness.

What's your advice to other women working in the rail industry?

You absolutely deserve to be here – take ownership of your journey, be intentional in your actions and bring your authentic self to work.

Does everyone have a part to play in working towards equity?

Definitely – we all need to show up and do the work, as well as reap the benefits of a world where everyone gets what they need to thrive.

See also:

Last week, for International Women’s Day, we featured GBRTT’s Tracee Grenardo who has worked in rail for over 20 years and was on the Windrush committee who were commissioned to install the National Windrush Memorial at Waterloo station. You can watch the video here.

Also, for International Women’s Day, Great Western Railway, the train operator that Samyutha is seconded from, shared this video about some of the projects the organisation has been working on to support women in the industry.