Jo Evans, Director of Tata Steel’s Building Systems business said: “Our industry is a fantastic place to build an exciting career, with women in every part of our UK business—from operations and engineering to research, sales and central functions—making a huge impact every day.
“The discussions we’re having this year around the difference between equality and equity are really helpful in making sure we’re striving for equal outcomes for all.”

Opening Tata Steel’s day of activities was keynote guest speaker, Debbie Jones, Professor of Criminology and Interim Head for the School of Social Sciences at Swansea University. 
She said: “The more discussions we can have about topics such as equity, diversity and inclusion, the more likely we are to make progress towards a more inclusive and effective workplace and society. I’m absolutely thrilled that Tata Steel is embracing the campaign so actively this year and am delighted to be asked to share my own thoughts and experiences.”

This year’s IWD 2023 campaign highlights equity rather than equality:
Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities, whereas Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances, and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.

Jessica Williams, Specialist Operator Blast Furnaces in Port Talbot, said: “While it’s a bit of fun to take selfies embracing the campaign, it’s much more important that we all get involved in conversations about equality and equity – no matter who you are or what you do, you can speak up and make a difference every day.”

Tata Steel is also relaunching its Steel Women’s Network, which aims to provide a forum that positively informs and influences the role of women in steel, and to inspire future generations to be involved in the industry.

Jo added: “We are a business that is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture that is representative of the society in which we all live; that means a culture where everyone feels they can bring their authentic self to work and feel empowered to reach their full potential.”
 

ends
 

For further information: 
Tim Rutter on +44 (0)7850 990755 or tim.rutter@tatasteeleurope.com or
Abigail Thomas on abigail.thomas@tatasteeleurope.com

Notes

About Debbie Jones: 
Debbie is originally from a small market town in the north of England – Bishop Auckland. Prior to beginning her academic career in 2008, Debbie was a Police Officer with the Metropolitan Police specialising in major crimes and child protection.  
In 2004 Debbie moved to Neath with her husband and children and undertook an undergraduate degree in Criminology and Social Policy at Swansea University. Since completing her degree in 2008, Debbie has undertaken a number of managerial and leadership roles as well as her core functions of lecturing and researching. 
Much of Debbie’s research focuses challenging the stigma experienced by those working in the sex industry.  More recently, Debbie has turned her attention to the role of Higher Education in facilitating desistance from offending. Throughout her research, Debbie has focused on developing methodologies that are both inclusive and creative and has endeavoured to make academic research accessible to the community through a series of public education activities.
In 2022 Debbie was appointed to Professor - something that would have seemed highly unlikely to the girl who left school at 16 with very few academic qualifications. She credits her parents for her success as they instilled in her the values of hard work, resilience and kindness.

Gender intersectionality
A range of identities exist within and outside of a diverse gender spectrum. Intersectionality considers a collection of factors that might affect an individual in combination, instead of considering each factor in isolation.
By embracing equity, we can ensure that everyone’s differentiated and intersecting needs are recognised and catered for.