As the UK marks International Women in Engineering Day on 23 June, four women working on the Tarchon Interconnector Project share their stories and their advice for the next generation of young women.
As of 2026, women make up just 17% of the UK’s engineering and technology workforce – and according to new data from Engineering UK, that figure has increased from 16.5% the previous year. At a time when engineering and technology jobs are predicted to grow faster than any other sector in the UK, and when up to 725,000 new roles may be needed to support the transition to net zero, the industry’s persistent failure to retain women is not just an equality issue, but a practical one.
To mark International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) this year, we spoke to four women at the heart of the Tarchon Project about the careers that brought them here, the challenges they’ve navigated, and what they would say to young women considering a future in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) based careers.
Tarchon is one of the most significant energy infrastructure projects currently being developed in Europe. The proposed Tarchon Interconnector Project will create a direct power link between the UK and Germany, connecting from Essex to Neiderlangen. By connecting the two energy markets, it will increase energy security and reliability, reduce CO2 emissions, and help lower energy costs for both nations. When one country has a surplus of renewable electricity and the other faces a shortage, power can be transferred through the interconnector to meet demand, rather than curtailing and wasting that energy. Therefore, surplus green energy can be traded to the benefit of both economies. This ‘energy trading link’ also allows the countries to seek to avoid or reduce the impact of fluctuations when energy is in high demand and hence costs more to acquire at a national level, the international link provided by the Tarchon interconnector enables access to another energy trading market where lower prices can potentially be sought. When built, the Tarchon project will be one of the largest interconnectors in the world. It is a project that demands expertise across electrical engineering, marine science, environmental planning, geophysics and project management; a project, in short, that needs the widest possible talent pool.
The four women below are proof of what that talent pool looks like.
Gulnara | Senior Technical Project Manager
Company: Tarchon / Copenhagen Offshore Partners
Role on the Tarchon Project: Marine Engineering Lead
Gulnara describes her career as one she could never have planned. Educated in geophysics in Moscow, she began in the oil and gas industry and took an international opportunity shortly after graduating, embracing an international career and expat lifestyle. She has since lived and worked in the UK, Norway, Denmark and Sweden, building a career across the technically demanding energy sector.
On the Tarchon Project, Gulnara leads the marine engineering scope – a role responsible for coordinating technical work across the approximate 620 km subsea cable route, spanning UK, Dutch and German waters. She manages multi-million-dollar contracts on the Tarchon project, leading a broad team of internal and external personnel. Her team must identify a viable route through complex offshore constraints, manage extensive survey programmes and collect scientific data that enable both the permitting processes and technical design.
“My role on the Tarchon Project sits at the intersection of engineering, strategy and collaboration,” she explains. “It’s about aligning engineering requirements, environmental constraints and regulatory perspectives from the UK, Germany and the Netherlands – if you miss one part, you can delay the project.”
Gulnara manages a team that is currently all male – a reality she addresses directly. “If you’re a female team lead in this kind of environment, you really have to prove yourself,” she says. “Having a technical background gives you the respect of the team. Without it, I probably would not have been able to succeed.”
She is candid about the progress still to be made, drawing on her experience as a mother of two daughters, aged 12 and 15. “Early in my career, when they were small, it was very challenging,” she says. “I was lucky enough to have my children in Norway and Denmark, which are probably amongst the most advanced countries in the world for supporting working mothers. Not all countries are like this. Women need to be supported in this respect, to be able to compete with male colleagues on equal terms.”
Her advice to young women is to discard outdated ideas of what an engineer looks like. “You should not try to fit the old stereotype of what a scientist or engineer might look like,” she says. “If you have curiosity, if you are driven by problem-solving, if you don’t mind complexity – that can be even more important than being perfect at physics and maths. A career in engineering today is much broader than people might think: environment, climate, AI, energy, medicine, space, design – the possibilities are endless.”
Emily | Principal Consultant, Marine Planning
Company: APEM Group
Role on the Tarchon Project: UK Offshore Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Lead
Emily grew up by the sea and never really left it. After studying environmental science at university, specialising in marine in her fourth year, she started her career working for a marine environment charity in Cornwall before moving into consultancy. Now, nearly nine years into her career, she leads the UK offshore Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Tarchon Project.
It is a role of striking breadth. On any given day, Emily might be coordinating a team of 30 to 40 marine specialists – from marine ecologists and fisheries experts to shipping and navigation specialists and marine archaeologists. She could be working out the environmental implications of changes to a project’s design, or problem-solving with the engineering team on how best to minimise underwater noise impacts from clearing unexploded ordnance on the seabed. “One day I could be doing finances and programme management and the next I’m working with specialists to establish the impacts on marine mammals from underwater noise,” she says. “It’s just such a diverse role and every day brings a new chance to learn.”
When Emily started out, she was one of just two women in an office of 40 people. She remembers attending construction sites with no facilities for women, and being issued PPE that did not come in women’s sizes. She is clear that things have changed – the company she works for now has female leadership at the highest levels, including a female CEO – but she is equally clear that unconscious bias and outdated stereotypes have not disappeared entirely.
“There are still barriers there, even if they’re less visible than they once were,” she says. “Stereotypes about what someone in STEM looks like, what their leadership position would be – that still influences things without people realising.”
Emily’s message to young women is to seek out opportunities actively rather than waiting for them to appear, and not to be deterred by the industry’s lingering male identity. “If you’re driven enough, you can find a way in,” she says. “There are so many women’s networks in STEM who work to support each other. You’re not alone.”
She also values the Tarchon Project specifically for its unusually collaborative culture: “It’s quite rare on such a large-scale project to be so close to the action. There are no barriers between us and the engineering and design teams, meaning we have direct access to everyone if needed. That helps to make our assessments more thorough.” Exposing and involving the broader team to engineering solutions, hurdles, and implications can ensure the project is delivered efficiently, where engineering solutions can support any necessary environmental adaptation.
Bita | Associate High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Engineer
Company: WSP
Role on the Tarchon Project: Technical Lead (Electrical/HVDC)
Bita is an electrical engineer who has spent her career moving towards HVDC and interconnector technologies across different project stages.
After her degree and early years in AC (Alternating Current) substations, she spent nearly a decade at GE as a protection and control engineer before joining WSP and, in time, transitioning into the HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) field – technology used to transmit large amounts of electrical power over long distances, both nationally and internationally.
That transition required courage. “I had to go a few steps backwards to move forwards,” she recalls. “HVDC was technology I hadn’t worked in before, but my line manager was incredibly supportive. He recognised my abilities and encouraged me to get involved in projects during testing and commissioning stages, which were valuable learning opportunities and key steps in developing my technical competence.”
Now an Associate Engineer at WSP, Bita serves as the electrical technical lead on the Tarchon Project, working across an intricate web of contractors, specialists and interfaces spanning the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and beyond.
Her role is critical in supporting interfaces with grid points in both the UK and Germany when the HVDC transmission technology is converted to HVAC energy that both countries utilise as part of their main electrical infrastructure. The role of Tarchon exposes her to fields far beyond her core expertise. “You’re exposed to a wide range of disciplines, requiring you to quickly build understanding and ensure the right resources are in place to support them,” she says. “It’s challenging, but at the same time very rewarding.” Her role includes supporting technical design alignment, routing and siting, and consenting activities across the UK and Germany, as well as coordinating technical interfaces with other parties involved in this project.
When she started her career, Bita was often the only woman in the room, or one of just two in a team of 30 at one major Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). She has seen that change significantly. “Nowadays, companies are much more open to encouraging women to join the industry,” she says. “On the Tarchon Project especially, I have seen so many talented women working across different fields and different companies. It’s really amazing.”
Her proudest achievement is her Chartered Engineer status, which she describes as more than a qualification. “It gives you confidence – and reflects your technical competence and professional development. Especially for women, it is so valuable.”
Her parting advice? “Grow your confidence and believe in your abilities. Don’t underestimate yourself, don’t be discouraged by stereotypes, and try to focus on learning and improving. And learn about networking – how to build relationships and communication skills. These things are so important, especially in engineering.”
Nicola | Principal Consultant, Onshore Project Manager
Company: APEM Group
Role on the Tarchon Project: UK Onshore Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Lead
Nicola’s path into environmental consultancy was not a straight line, which is precisely why she finds it so useful to share. She graduated during the financial crash of 2007, took volunteer roles with the National Trust and a renewable energy consultancy in Cornwall, and eventually turned that unpaid experience into a graduate position. Over nearly two decades, she has worked across onshore wind, solar and offshore renewables, been made redundant three times due to government policy changes, and come back each time with a broader skill set and a deeper resilience.
“Resilience is a key skill to have, especially in this type of job,” she says. “I’ve been made redundant three times over my career because of government policy changes. Each time, I’ve adapted my skills and found a new role. It’s given me an amazing career across a huge breadth of topics, but, at times, it has been tough.”
Today, as a Principal Consultant at APEM Group, Nicola serves as the onshore project manager for the Tarchon Project – coordinating client meetings, stakeholder engagement, technical teams and sub-consultants across the UK side of the Project. She also holds Chartered Environmentalist status through the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), now known as the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP), a qualification she values highly as a way for those without a conventional engineering degree to demonstrate competence and commitment.
“You don’t have to have an engineering or physics degree to get into this kind of role,” she says. “There’s a lot of people management involved which draws on skills from all different backgrounds. It’s about showing what you can do.”
She is also passionate about making the industry structurally more accessible, noting that most advertised roles are full-time, which can deter women with caring responsibilities. Her approach? Apply anyway. “If you see a job and think you’d be great at it, go for it and then negotiate. You have to advocate for yourself.”
Her advice to her younger self: “Be confident. You’re not going to have all the answers, and that’s fine. Ask loads of questions, believe in yourself, and just start somewhere, the confidence will come.”
