Welcome to the last WUN blog of 2024- and what a year it has been!

Reflecting back, it is fair to say that there are too many highlights to mention in what has been an incredibly busy year.

Probably the highest of the high was our very first ‘Women in Utilities Awards’ in June this year. Over 400 people were able to celebrate the fantastic award winners from across the sector, and the tangible energy and talent in the room was a visceral reminder of what WUN is all about- supporting women to develop their careers in the sector. Please put 27 June 2025 in your diary for next years’ awards.

Our events and podcasts, have continued to be hugely well received, with many new members joining and engaging through the year. The topics covered have been broad, and perspectives wide- and we have been delighted with the insight, expertise and enthusiasm that all of our guest speakers have brought.

We continue to have a strong focus on personal development, and we have covered topics to really support our members with practical advice in such as career mapping, networking skills and self advocacy. The personal stories and inspiration provided by our growing Podcast collection are so powerful in helping women learn and develop their own careers. Our mentoring programme continues to go from strength to strength now with over 300 mentees being supported by 130 plus mentors. There is nothing better than hearing stories of the career enhancing outcomes that are a product of good mentoring and allyship relationships. To enhance our offer further, we were delighted, and very excited, to launch our Development Framework in Q4, with a range of programmes focused on women at different stages of their careers. The programme is designed by women for women in the sector, responding to everything we have learnt through our work, and focusing on key skill areas that will help women develop and grow. Our first two programmes are live (with the Drive programme already into its second cohort) and there is much to follow in 2025.

We continue to focus many of our events on content lead topics. We have had some brilliant speakers through the year discussing things such as the political landscape ahead of the election, the transition to NetZero 2050 and rebuilding trust in the water industry. The feedback on these events highlights the power of different perspectives and insights which women provide in a complex landscape, and also showcases some of the incredible talent we have in leadership roles across the sector. All of which is designed to provide inspiration and education for our members.

Our third area of focus is all about changing business culture, so that we develop genuinely inclusive workplaces in which women can thrive. Our 2024 survey depressingly highlighted that one in three women are considering leaving the sector, and the statistics in relation to representation at senior levels and equal pay, continue to reinforce the size of the gap that there is still to close to achieve real equality and equity. We held two Executive dinners in the year where we discussed unconscious bias, the importance of male allyship and the upcoming changes to the equalities act. Both dinners were thought provoking and really engaging, with the commitment from Senior Leaders to drive change giving cause for real hope. As I write, the importance of our ‘Speak Up’ campaign launched in the year, has never been better illustrated than the furore around Greg Wallace, his inappropriate behaviour and apparent inability to understand the impact it has on women. Hopefully, when the dust settles, more women will have gained the confidence to challenge these type of attitudes and behaviours which, whilst still far too common, are simply not acceptable in any workplace.

WUN has great plans in train for 2025, building on all that we have done in 2024. None of this would be possible without the support of our partners to whom we are hugely grateful. The greatest thanks however, goes to our brilliant team who make everything happen, with energy, humour and dedication of their own time.

Ultimately, all that we do is for our members, and we continue to welcome feedback and ideas from you for future developments. Please do continue to get involved and tap into what is on offer.

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year from all at WUN.

Jo Butlin, WUN C0-Founder.