09.06.17
RTM team joins rail industry in action-packed Big Rail Diversity Challenge
For the second year running, members of the rail industry workforce will converge at Peterborough Arena today to participate in the innovative and action-packed Big Rail Diversity Challenge.
And this year, RTM will be present not only as the event’s official media sponsor, but as a participant: our own Josh Mines, from the editorial team, will join business development director Roy C Rowlands, sales executive Patrick Bowley and administration assistant Lucy Brien – along with staff from Transport for the North and other bodies – in a bid to win one of the top accolades after competing in a series of physical challenges.
The Women in Rail event, which brings together gender-balanced teams from organisations across the industry to compete in head-to-head challenges, aims to shine a spotlight on the importance and value of having diverse teams.
This year, the competition includes the Blindfolded Land Rover Challenge, Construction Conundrum, Shelter Building, Racing Aces, Human Table Football, Segway Relay, Hungry Hippos, Le Mans Soapbox Race, Quad Bike Obstacle Challenge and the Motorised Bathtub Dash, amongst many, many other challenges.
Although winners will be named at the end of the day for being the ‘team of the year’ or the most collaborative group, the event itself does not revolve around prizes; rather, participants are encouraged to take note of the difference that working as part of a gender-balanced team can make to the efficiency of a company.
Last year, participants told RTM that the event succeeded in bringing out the best in everybody, with team members encouraged to show more managerial skills and take charge.
Ultimately, the “biggest thing people need to realise is that everybody can play a part, and everybody has equal contributions to make”, Direct Rail Services MD Debbie Francis told us.
RTM will be reporting live from the event on our Twitter account all day, and an article featuring interviews with other participants will be included in the upcoming June/July edition of the magazine.