Our first inspirational woman to join us is Bonny Crayden, a Site Supervisor at our depot in Kingsnorth, Kent. Bonny has been at the depot for 11 years and after working in both customer service and operational roles over the past decade, she is now site supervisor after obtaining her COTC qualification.
Hi Bonny. It’s great to be chatting with you. You’re in the very privileged position to be first up in this year’s Slicker focus on IWD! Let’s start with the theme. This year’s IWD is all about understanding, valuing, and seeking out better inclusion of women. But what does inclusion mean to you?
It’s amazing to be here and to be involved. I suppose that as a professional female in a male-dominated industry, I appreciate being treated with respect for the job I do regardless of my gender. That really is inclusion to me.
And to you, more generally, what more do you think can be done to improve female inclusion in the workplace?
I think that’s a really good question and a tough one to answer. However, I think more can be done to encourage females to not be shy or intimidated when trying to learn and do a notoriously male role. That really could help break down barriers.
Turning to Slicker. What do you think is done here to ensure balance and female inclusion?
Quite simply, Slicker Recycling gave me an opportunity to take this role and have supported me throughout. I work with a great bunch of men at Kingsnorth all of who have accepted and encouraged my progression in this role and continue to help and support me to do my job to the best of my ability.
That’s really great to hear. Moving on from that, what will you be doing to play your part this year in promoting female achievement, or pushing back against bias or discrimination?
This year I will be continuing to keep Kingsnorth depot running as smoothly as possible with the help of all who work here. I will also be looking forward to other ladies who work in the company coming to Kingsnorth to see what we do on-site and how it runs.
And finally…it wouldn’t be IWD without asking you which female has inspired you in the past 12 months?
That would be my two daughters who are 19 and 28. My youngest Amy is at Greenwich University working towards her Forensic Psychology degree, and my eldest daughter is a mother of two working hard to provide for them. She is also studying for her Psychology degree so she can go into the mental health sector in the future but she is studying at Open University and is fitting this around the children, they are both hard-working and inspirational to me. I know they have very bright futures ahead of them through their sheer hard work and dedication. I encourage them to be the best they can be in life and face any obstacle with determination and drive.
For more on International Women’s Day 2024, you can visit the website through https://www.internationalwomensday.com/
