In recognition of International Women’s Day, Thorne & Derrick International is highlighting the growing contribution of women across its business and reaffirming its commitment to developing talent within traditionally male-dominated sectors. Women now represent 40% of the company’s workforce, with their work going beyond product supply, supporting engineered, certified solutions for customers operating in hazardous and high-voltage environments where failure isn’t an option, contributing to decision-making, and delivering steadfast outcomes on critical infrastructure projects.
The organisation’s focus on investing in people is reflected through hands-on development opportunities, mentorship and support for professionals at different career stages – from apprentices building technical knowledge to experienced employees strengthening credibility in customer-facing roles and individuals returning to work after career breaks.
Chloe Johnston, the company’s first female apprentice sales engineer, is CompEx F trained, bringing safety-critical competence into customer-facing technical decisions. Having progressed into a sales engineer role Chloe celebrates three years with the business in July and now mentors apprentice Elisa Thompson, supporting the next generation entering the industry.
Laura McCabe transitioned from an administrative role into engineering sales, completing her CompEx F training to become the organisation’s first female sales engineer and reaches ten years of service this year. Her experience reflects industry progress alongside ongoing challenges, including PPE historically not designed with women in mind and assumptions sometimes encountered on site, reinforcing the importance of continued awareness and inclusion.
Sarah Henderson joined the organisation seven years ago following a decade-long career break raising children. Through technical development and support, she built expertise and confidence in her role and believes diverse perspectives strengthen both problem-solving and customer engagement.
As part of ongoing development, Sarah and Chloe are scheduled to complete Nexans high-voltage tooling training in March, strengthening their capability to support complex HV projects.
Together, these professionals represent a growing presence of women in heavy industrial sectors underpinning critical infrastructure. Their work supports projects where reliable heating, lighting and power are non-negotiable – particularly in hazardous and high-voltage environments – demonstrating the value of inclusive talent in delivering resilient outcomes.
This International Women’s Day, Thorne & Derrick International truly demonstrates this year’s ‘Give To Gain’ theme in practice: giving people training and exposure to produce stronger capability and more reliable outcomes for customers.
For more information please visit: https://www.thorneandderrick.com/