INSIGHT | WOMEN IN TUNNELLING
FROM UNDERGROUND WOMEN’S VOICES
This article presents and discusses women in underground settings of the past and in the present and future of the UK and international tunnelling industry. Report by Rosa Diez, Arabel Vilas Serín, Tasnia Khanom, and with acknowledgments to Sarah Langley, Negin Dolatraftarhaghighi and Avantika Raj and colleagues in BTS and BTSYM
From Saint Barbara of the 16th Century, remembered in a statue at many tunnel portals, to Janet Bonnema’s 1972 walk-on that ended a U.S. ban on women underground, the story of tunnelling has always been entwined with women’s presence—sometimes celebrated, often resisted. This article traces that arc from past superstition and legislation through to today’s data-driven realities: a workforce that is still less than 12 % female; a sector-leading 23 % gender-pay gap in construction; and, the everyday biases that keep senior roles stubbornly male. But it is also a record of change already under
way. This article shows how the BTS Young Members’ (BTSYM) new Diversity, Inclusion & Women in Tunnelling subgroup is turning good intentions into measurable action, how properly fitting PPE and visible mentors are chipping away at structural barriers, and why initiatives such as celebrating International Women’s Day and our living IWD collage are amplifying women’s stories. Finally, we look ahead. Drawing on industry research
and voices like Christina Trigle, NCE Young Tunneller of the Year 2023 , and Anna Hayes, SCS’ Head of Technical Interface on HS2, we outline the innovation dividend
that diversity brings, the flexible-working and outreach moves needed to attract the next generation, and the steps every reader can take tomorrow. Past, present and future: the following sets out where
women in tunnelling have come from, what we are reshaping right now, and how an inclusive underground industry will better serve the world above.
PAST Whether one likes it or not women have heavily featured, positively or negatively, in tunnelling throughout history. Positively as protectors represented by Saint Barbara
and all the TBMs that have been named after notable women; and, negatively as historical superstitions held that having females working inside tunnels brought bad luck. It is unclear when or where the tradition of naming
the TBMs after relevant women started, or which TBM was the first, one but this ritual got hold quickly around the world. From the late 20th Century and now firmly into the 21st, local pools are organised in communities and schools to name the female mathematicians, Nobel
Right:
HS2’s TBM Anne named after Lady Anne Byron (1792-1860) who established the first co-operative school providing education for the working classes SOURCE HS2 LIBRARY
30 | June 2025
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