Myrna Staring is innovation lead at Fugro, leading a team of innovation engineers working on active and passive seismic technologies for near-surface characterisation. Her work contributes to the development of tools for infrastructure and renewables developments. In this episode, she talks about the value of different kinds of empathy in building a diverse workforce.

Myrna is part of the European Association and Geoscience and Engineering’s Women in Geoscience and Engineering network in the Netherlands. Through her own lived experience, and through the network, she has seen that many women leave the industry, or the research community, early in their careers.

The reasons for this failure to retain women are complex, and there is no ‘one-size-fits’ all solution. However, in an international industry, Myrna believes that one starting point for building diversity is to try to understand the people we work alongside. Sometimes that will reveal cultural ideas about gender that differ from our own. But through understanding, we can begin to find common ground and develop better ways of working together.

Host

Jon Baston-Pitt

Guest

Myrna Staring, Innovation Lead, Fugro