Nov. 15, 2023 - Lauren Neal is an award-winning chartered engineer, consultant and author whose strategies can help organizations foster a culture where people from all backgrounds are in positions where they can develop, where they are engaged, and where they are enabled to showcase their skills and talents. “There are potentially many, many competent people who have so much more to give than they can because of workplace cultures or bias or any number of things that are just getting in the way,” Neal said in a recent interview. “I strive to spread the message that people should be able to show the world what they’ve got to offer and to be given the opportunity to do that.”
In her timely new book, Valued at Work: Shining a Light on Bias to Engage, Enable and Retain Women in STEM , Neal draws from her own experiences, compelling research and numerous real-world examples to provide what she calls tried-and-tested approaches to help male-dominated organizations create and maintain more inclusive workplace cultures. And Neal uses a unique approach to get her message across: The book is structured as a conversation between two male managers genuinely trying to improve the retention of women in their respective organizations.
Readers get to be “flies on the wall” as these two men discuss the problems that women face within the patriarchal system—using concrete examples—and actively try to understand the challenges and find ways to course correct the company’s inclusion efforts. They get it right, and they get it wrong. “This fictional approach to a real business problem allows readers to empathize with these male organizational leaders in their own struggles, as well as with the women in theirs, with less judgement than is typical when discussing this topic,” Neal added. Inspired by real-life stories, Valued at Work includes “top tips” for both organizations and women in STEM to equip all readers with strategies for driving real change.
About the author
Lauren Neal is a champion of gender equity and career progression within STEM. Originally from Aberdeen, Scotland, Neal was named one of the UK’s top female computing students at age 18. She gained a master’s degree in electronic and electrical engineering, and since 2005 has worked with men and women offshore, onshore and onsite on multimillion-dollar projects across the UK, Angola, Trinidad, Azerbaijan and Indonesia. Chartered through both the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and the Association of Project Management (APM), she is a certified IC Agile team facilitator and coach focused on improving team dynamics for optimal project delivery.