New Children’s Book Celebrates Diversity and Inclusion in the Rail Industry

A new children’s book, aiming to break down gender stereotypes in the rail industry, is being released on 8 November 2022 as part of a wider social initiative to address misconceptions about careers, that can start from the earliest ages.

Rail companies across the UK have pledged their support including, Freightliner, GB Railfreight, West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway, DB Cargo UK Ltd, MTR Elizabeth line, ScotRail, Arriva, Southeastern Railway, Great Western Railway and C2C. All have come together to support independent publisher Butterfly Books to produce My Mummy Is A Train Driver – the ninth installation in a series of children’s books that aim to promote diversity and inclusion and tackle gender biases across a myriad of industries – from plumbing and nursing to engineering and firefighting.

My Mummy Is A Train Driver is a culmination of the personal insights and perspectives of a diverse group of people working in the rail industry. The aim is to inspire young children to consider a future career in rail and to showcase the welcoming and inclusive work environment the rail industry continues to foster.

Kerrine Bryan, co-author and founder of Butterfly Books commented: “As an engineer by profession, I’ve worked in a sector that has long given the impression that it’s a dirty, manually difficult career almost exclusively for white old men. In reality, there are many roles within engineering and working on sites is just a tiny element of that. The rail sector faces similar misconceptions when, in reality, the industry has done much to improve diversity and inclusion through various initiatives. Today there are many roles that women assume within the industry, including train drivers, and this deserves recognition and support.”

Over the years, the UK’s rail sector has worked hard to improve gender parity via various initiatives. These include establishing employee networks groups, nominating senior champions of inclusion, working with external organisations on, for example, Women in Rail’s EDI Charter, Business in the Community’s Race at Work Charter and working on attraction, recruitment and retention strategies to better represent the communities we serve. Additionally, all train and freight operating companies have committed to introducing or improving the gathering of diversity data of which the targets are that at least 10% of train driver roles in the industry will be occupied by women by 2025, and at least 20% by 2030. Currently, the overall target achieved sits at 7.4 % – 1425 drivers out of 19239 across all operators (RDG Workforce Data)

Alison Bell, People and Corporate Affairs Director for MTR UK and chairperson for the Rail Delivery Group’s Diversity & Inclusion steering group, commented: “Working together, the rail industry has strong plans in place to champion an intersectional approach to diversity. This includes implementing training to ensure our environment is a safe space for everyone, promoting positive role models, and remaining accountable for the

impact of our efforts. We recognise that there is still much work to do across the full equality, diversity and inclusion spectrum and we are working closely with colleagues and experts to drive tangible progress.

“Partnering with Butterfly Books to produce My Mummy Is A Train Driver is part of an ongoing commitment to address diversity and inclusion in the industry holistically. By capturing the imagination of school-aged children, we hope to inspire them to think about the rail industry as a future career opportunity. It also provides an opportunity to demonstrate to parents and carers that rail is an inclusive, rewarding and forward-thinking sector.”

My Mummy is a Train Driver is available to pre-order via the Butterfly Books website: https://butterflybooks.co.uk/product/my-mummy-is-a-train-driver

For more information, product samples or interviews with Kerrine Bryan or Jason Bryan, please contact Andrea San Pedro, ASP PR, tel: +44 (0) 7970 468982, email: andrea.sanpedro@asp-pr.co.uk