The unstoppable drive to diversity

How does a lack of diversity hold back progress in the Cement sector?

Roze Wesby (RW): The cement industry is facing numerous new challenges, many similar to other industries and wider society, such as climate change, water scarcity and ecological footprint reduction. Therefore, we need diverse and creative thinkers to come up with new and innovative ways to take on and complete the mission to decarbonise. There is no doubt that diverse teams of all forms help us identify and overcome challenges faster, and in novel ways that homogenous teams simply cannot.

My global team sits across 15 countries and supports more than 130 plants in operations around the globe to define and execute their digital transformation roadmaps. This team is made up of domain experts, citizen data scientists and change managers – all dedicated to evolving towards our vision of what cement manufacturing could be.

Marie O’Grady-Hills (MO): Diversity is important in every sector – a diverse group of people working in an inclusive environment is great for any business. Around a project, there will be several different perspectives and thought processes. This is great for innovation and success.

I have always worked as part of a diverse team in the sense of nationalities and characters – at one point there were 15 different nationalities in our team, however, when I started my career 30 years ago, I was one of the very few female engineers working in the cement industry. Diversity is important; but inclusion is even more important. A team can be very diverse in the manner of gender, age, experience, culture, religion, sexual orientation, but all of these elements need to feel included and valued. When this happens people are happier, more motivated and perform better in the workplace.

What advice would you give to women today who are looking to join the cement industry?

RW: Whether a person is considering a seemingly traditional role in operations, or a ‘new’ role in decarbonisation, this industry is not what it used to be. There is opportunity to bring change across the entire value chain as it evolves, and the unique skills that women can bring to this industry alongside technical acumen, are more important than ever – skills such as communications and change management. These are crucial in industries undertaking ambitious and accelerated change at scale.

Also, it’s important for all to be humble to learn from those inside the industry (this is crucial to earning trust), be brave to seek and explore new ideas from outside the industry (there’s so much potential to replicate laterally), and be bold to propose ideas, from day one, about how to tackle a problem in a new way. These businesses are embracing a ‘fail fast, learn fast’ approach to solving the hardest challenges the industry has ever faced, and bold proposers are needed.

MO: Those motivated to join the cement industry should go for it. It is a very interesting and hugely important industry. It is great to be part of a challenging industry and to help take cement forward to a greener and more sustainable future.

From earlier this year, ABB has been running its ‘Unstoppable’ campaign to shine a light on diversity and inclusion, beginning with women in industry. The challenges process industries, including cement, face are varied and deep, but there are opportunities to make a genuine difference to operations and the wider world, particularly in a technology leader like ABB. Unstoppable has partnered with industry leaders to bring diversity to the forefront of industries and tell stories of inspirational people from all walks of life. The featured women have all been responsible for breaking down barriers and making significant contributions in their respective fields and believe in the power of diversity for a brighter, more inclusive future.

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Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/special-reports/24112023/the-unstoppable-drive-to-diversity/