In focus: International Women’s Day
This month, Print Monthly took time to catch up with Grace Willan, our Recovered Fibre Operations Team Leader, and Charlotte Scott-Parker, our Research and Development Specialist, about how we work to #EmbraceEquity and remove barriers that enable people to thrive and achieve in the print and paper industry.
Charlotte Scott-Parker: Research And Development Specialist
How did you come to be in the print (paper) industry, and what has your career looked like to date?
I graduated from university in 2020 in chemistry so I haven’t been in the industry for very long. After graduating, I was in a role where I was testing and analysing Covid-19 samples, which is a slightly unusual job. I then went on to join the paper industry and here I am, now in a research and development role.
Do you feel there are enough women in the print (paper) industry, and if not, how can we address this?
There has definitely been a shift. While it is still a very male dominated industry, there are more and more women joining, which is positive. To promote the industry to women, I think it needs to be seen and heard within universities and other academic routes, much more than it is now.
What’s your proudest career moment to date?
My proudest moments come with each new project and team I work on. R&D requires you to definitely think outside the box at times and manage various teams. I have developed new technology and pieced together information that we did not know before within the company. That’s really exciting and makes me proud.
Grace Willan: Recovered Fibre Operations Team Leader
How did you come to be in the print (paper) industry, and what has your career looked like to date?
I was lucky enough to be successful in my application to a Graduate scheme with James Cropper, and started several weeks after graduating university! The rest is history. I originally worked in the technical department before moving to work in COLOURFORM for several years. Last year I moved back into James Cropper Paper and am now the Team Leader for the Reclaimed Fibre Plant. I can honestly say production management is where I see my future here, I love it!
Do you feel there are enough women in the print (paper) industry, and if not, how can we address this?
I think the number of men in the industry can put some women off, especially younger women. I manage a team of five men, all of which are older than me (three are old enough to be my dad!), and I can understand how this could be intimidating to a lot of women wanting to enter the industry. I am lucky in that my team are great and the support networks I have at work have helped me develop into a good leader. James Cropper is fab at supporting and nurturing young talent, and this is what has helped me get to where I am now – other companies could learn from this! I am the youngest team leader in production at James Cropper, and was the first female – I really hope I am not the last!
What’s your proudest career moment to date?
Landing my dream job in junior production management is a stand-out moment for me in recent years, but I have had a lot of moments at James Cropper which have made me proud of the work I do. We have recently started to recycle a new type of waste material through the Reclaimed Fibre Plant which is from another local business, and being able to keep thousands of tonnes of waste paper out of landfill or from being incinerated is brilliant.
