Serving England The Women Building Nuclear

Stacey Sowden is a steel fixer at Hinkley Point C, joining the construction site as an apprentice 2 years ago. Every day, her job involves heaving huge, prefabricated steel bars, tying them together into the colossal frames that form the backbone of the concrete city that is Hinkley Point C. It is back-breaking work, and not for the faint-hearted.

Most of Stacey's work ends up in Nuclear Island One, one of two 32-metre high reinforced concrete shells that in less than four years they will contain one of Hinkley's nuclear reactors. The finished buildings will be strong enough to withstand tsunamis, earthquakes and even the impact of an aircraft.

Steel fixing is physically gruelling work, probably one of the toughest in the building industry, which perhaps explains why so few women chose it as a career. In 2014, a study by the Smith Institute found that women made up just 1% of workers on construction sites. It identified multiple reasons and recommended changing the culture throughout the industry.

Stacey's choice to tackle one of the toughest of jobs in a notoriously tough industry might suggest that the culture of construction is changing. But, as Stacey is quick to point out, changing the culture of construction doesn't mean the banter is gone. The atmosphere is jocular, at times bawdy. Nicknames are as prevalent as ever.

Hinkley Point C's reactors are due to start generating electricity in 2026, supplying six million homes. But, much like construction, the nuclear industry has a poor record when it comes to gender diversity. A 2017 report by the Nuclear Skills Strategy Group, supported by all the main industry players, found 28% of the civil nuclear industry were women, but this fell to 15% for engineering roles.

Janaan Hussain is one of 10 trainee reactor operators, chosen from a field of 400 applicants. When fully qualified she will be responsible for the supervision and control of the reactor, a technically complex role that carries with it huge responsibility.

Janaan attributes her success to schooling, specifically the encouragement for her to take up a STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subject, which have been traditionally avoided by women. That, and a chance meeting with an astrophysicist whilst on holiday who blew her mind. Janaan believes that, despite the encouragement she had, the nuclear industry still suffers from a lack of women applicants.

Janaan's first job in the nuclear saw her as one of only 3 women among a workforce of 200, but she believes the industry target of 40% women feels possible at Hinkley Point C.

Both Stacey and Janaan long for the day when Hinkley Point C is finished, but for very different reasons. For Stacey, it will mark a moment when she can look back with pride at what she has achieved. For Janaan, it will be the first day of her new job as the controller of a fully operational power station. That's when her work really begins.