Sophie’s achievements as Chair of Shell’s Balance Employee Network have included delivering programs to develop female talent with the overall goal of achieving gender balance. The mentoring scheme had 52 joiners to 5 mentoring circles, and the staff development program resulted in reviews of career development plans of over 60 employees. Sophie’s teams’ initiatives to retain female STEM talent included a dedicated session on ‘Accelerating Technical Careers’ and two panel sessions on International Women’s Day and International Women in Engineering Day. Likewise, Sophie served as a focal point for female staff after long career breaks in the government ‘Return to Work’ program. In order to take further steps to transform company culture, Sophie and her team organised the ‘Role Model Awards’, where 412 staff voted to recognised their D&I Champions, and celebrated International Men’s Day, creating 200 information packs on men’s health. Collectively these initiatives contributed to Shell’s application to become a Times Top 50 Employer for Women.
