Emer Donnelly
Associate, Nicholas O’Dwyer
Kate Murphy
Principal Consultant, Nicholas O’Dwyer
Lucy Thomas
Director of Nicholas O’Dwyer and RSK
Supporting an ‘open culture’ has helped an engineering firm increase its access to a diverse pool of talent while maintaining a welcoming environment where people want to work.
What’s the best way for businesses to attract the best people? For Jim Oliver, Managing Director of global engineering company Nicholas O’Dwyer, the answer is to ‘build a culture without barriers.’ A firm with an open culture has a huge advantage, he insists, because by thinking outside the box and breaking stereotypes, it can access a diverse pool of talent. “Which is why we always hire and attract people based on their abilities and their interest in the kind of work we do,” maintains Oliver.
Tackling the planet’s environmental challenges
Nicholas O’Dwyer is part of the RSK Group, a family of over 200 environmental, engineering and technical services businesses with over 15,000 employees. Many are attracted to the big societal benefits the company delivers by providing practical solutions to some of the planet’s greatest challenges. Nicholas O’Dwyer’s 300 professionals supply engineering and environmental services around the world, with a focus on clean water and sanitation, flood protection, transportation and energy transition.
Its humanitarian focus certainly appeals to Kate Murphy, Principal Consultant, Wastewater Department, who joined the company two years ago. “My advice to young people is: find a career that’s also your passion,” she says. “That’s what happened to me when I realised I could apply my aptitude for maths and science to problem-solving and civil engineering. In turn, that linked to my desire to do good in the world by providing water and sanitation services to people who don’t have them.”
It’s important for candidates to recognise
that this is a place where everyone can
bring their whole selves to work.
Pioneering in the engineering and construction sector
Nevertheless, Murphy admits that getting more women into the male-dominated engineering industry is easier said than done. So, she’s pleased that the firm’s leadership team is fully committed to numerous diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategies — and has had some notable successes with them. For instance, in 2024, Nicholas O’Dwyer became the first Irish company in the engineering and construction sector to achieve the Investors in Diversity Gold Standard; and, currently, it has a female gender employment rate of approximately 35%, which is up from 18% and far above the industry average.
This didn’t happen by accident, stresses Emer Donnelly, Associate, Water Department. When she joined the company eight years ago, she was the only female engineer in the department. Now, half the engineering team are women. “We’ve been very vocal about our stance on diversity, equity and inclusion, which has helped our recruiters cast their nets more widely,” says Donnelly. “We’re supportive of our growing number of female colleagues, LGBTQ+ colleagues and colleagues of all nationalities and cultures. It’s important for candidates to recognise that this is a place where everyone can bring their whole selves to work.”
Encouraging female career development and retention
Lucy Thomas, Chief Scientist and Regional Operations Director for Africa, points to other DEI initiatives, such as RSK’s employee networks, which foster awareness, community and inclusion within the workplace. “All are colleague-led and include a Pride Network, a Women’s Network and the RSK with Unity network, which celebrates colleagues whatever their race, culture or beliefs,” she says. “Plus, as an international company, we celebrate World Food Day every October where colleagues from all cultures bring in their own cuisine to share and tell stories about what particular dishes mean to them.” It’s a great way to connect.
Going forward, Oliver is determined to make the workplace even more diverse and appealing to female staff. “Having female leaders with organisations such as Engineers Ireland and the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (ACEI), which is currently the case, will hopefully encourage more women to pursue STEM careers,” he says. “This, combined with improved pathways through education and maintaining a flexible working culture are essential if we are to continue to remove barriers and promote female career development and retention in our sector.”
Nicholas O’Dwyer became the first Irish company in the engineering and construction sector to achieve the Investors in Diversity Gold Standard.
