RSP UK director Charlie Gardener named one of the UK’s Inspirational Business Women in STEM and Construction
Charlie Gardener, one of the directors of suction excavator manufacturer RSP UK, has been named on this year’s inaugural Inspirational Business Women in STEM and Construction (IBWSC) list.
The IBWSC list was created to identify inspirational female business owners in STEM and construction, who can act as role models to the future generations. These are women challenging the status quo, in typically male-dominated sectors.
Hundreds of nominations were put forward, of which 70 were long-listed, before the final 30 were announced at an event held at the 
House of Lords on Thursday 22 June, which was hosted by Baroness Sandy Verma and Roni Savage, CEO of Jomas.
Charlie said, “It is a real honour to be named on this list of trailblazing women. Attending the House of Lords event and speaking to other female entrepreneurs, all with different backgrounds and career paths, was really inspiring. I’m sure the UK’s construction and engineering sectors could be even more successful and sustainable if we could attract a much more diverse workforce.”
The IBWSC list followed the government-commissioned ‘Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship’, which highlighted that women entrepreneurs are underrepresented in the most productive sectors of the UK economy, and that female entrepreneurship could add a further £250bn to the UK economy.
The Review recommends that encouraging young women to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics is key to increasing female start-up rates in those sectors.
Women still make up a minority of the STEM workforce, occupying just 29.4% of roles. It is widely accepted that the lack of visible female role models in the STEM industry contributes to the low number of females taking up STEM-related careers.
Congratulations from everyone here at UKSTT Charlie!