At Lanes Group, we believe that mentoring women isn’t just about providing advice - it’s about building confidence, unlocking leadership skills and helping each person realise their potential. In the utilities sector and wider drainage engineering industry, where women still remain underrepresented, creating the right environment for women to thrive is part of our long-term strategy for a stronger, more inclusive workforce.
This article explores how mentoring at Lanes is supporting professional development, growing female recruitment and creating a culture where women across various roles feel supported, respected and empowered.
Mentorship has a meaningful role in shaping careers, especially in industries where women are in the minority. At Lanes Group, we’ve developed mentoring programmes that pair female staff with experienced colleagues who can share knowledge, offer guidance and help navigate challenges that come with building a long-term career.
For many women, having someone to speak to who understands the structure of the business, the energy of the industry and the reality of balancing life and career can make a real difference. This kind of mutual support helps individuals develop new skills and strategies, and strengthens our wider team by creating lasting relationships based on trust and shared goals.
Supporting women at Lanes isn’t limited to those on engineering or technical routes. We recognise that entrepreneurial thinking drives progress across all areas of our business - from project delivery and team leadership to client services and innovation.
By mentoring women with ambitions to take on more responsibility or explore new roles, we’re encouraging a culture where female staff members feel confident to think creatively, share ideas and lead change. Many of our mentors help our women staff members to develop key leadership skills such as decision-making, communication and team management - qualities that are just as relevant in business as they are in engineering.
At Lanes, our efforts to support women in the utilities workforce begin with listening, practical action and consistency. We focus on helping female workers build confidence, gain new skills and progress in their careers - whatever stage they’re at.
Mentoring at Lanes is outcome-led, aimed at preparing women for leadership roles, boosting self-belief and providing access to the right resources and training. This support is especially meaningful in sectors like drainage, where formalised frameworks to support women remain inconsistent across the wider industry.
We’re working to change that. Our aim is to combine female recruitment with long-term development. We want women joining our business - or those already in it - to know they’ll find mutual support, meaningful opportunities and space to grow.
To help make this real, here are some of the ways we support female staff members across our teams:
As one of the leading employers in the utilities industry, Lanes Group is proud to take a leadership stance on gender equality. Our mentoring work sits alongside a range of other initiatives designed to support women, including return-to-work programmes, and access to training across various roles.
By investing in staff members and creating spaces where women feel supported, we’re building a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. And we’re seeing results - with more women involved in mentoring, more progress into high-level roles and more businesses across the sector taking notice and following our lead.
One of the most powerful outcomes of mentoring is the ripple effect it creates. When women feel supported and confident in their abilities, they’re more likely to mentor other women in turn - sharing experiences, insights and encouragement.
We’ve seen this culture of support take hold across teams. Female mentors help build confidence in those coming up behind them, offer advice during challenging moments and show by example that great things are possible when women support each other.
As our teams grow, so does the network of women across Lanes who are willing to speak up, share their knowledge and champion each other’s development. This sense of community is what sets our mentoring programme apart - and why it continues to be a central focus of our professional development strategy.
Every member of staff at Lanes plays a part in making our workplace more inclusive. Through mentoring, training and peer support, we’re helping our colleagues realise their potential, find their voice and shape their own future.
Whether it’s encouraging women to participate in industry groups like the Women’s Engineering Society, supporting training for leadership or providing the space to develop new skills, our goal is the same: help our people grow.
We’ll continue to invest in mentoring women - not just because it helps individual careers, but because it strengthens our business, enriches our teams and makes a difference that lasts.
Looking to change industry, or take the next step in your utilities career? Take a look at our open roles today.
Lanes Group Ltd,
17 Parkside Lane, Parkside Industrial Estate, Leeds, LS11 5TD
Lanes Group ltd
Customer Solutions Centre
9 Cambridge Avenue
Slough
SL1 4AY
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