Black History Month 2020

October is Black History Month (BHM) in the United Kingdom, a nationwide celebration for more than 30 years, founded to recognise the contributions that people of African and Caribbean backgrounds have made to the UK over many generations.

This year we mark BHM with a renewed vigour to ensure we make effective strides for racial equality. WREN (Wood’s race and ethnicity network) has been established this year, an important addition to our thriving group of existing employee networks, to support our colleagues in this journey. When it comes to the pursuit of a career path, it’s natural to look to those who are thriving in that field for inspiration. If that area is filled with brilliant people who look and sound like you, you’ll likely believe that you can flourish, too.

Meet two engineering professionals from Team Wood, Olubukola Anne Adeniji and Temitope Solanke, as they share their accounts of their careers to date.

Olubukola Anne Adeniji, process engineer

My name is Olubukola Anne Adeniji, but I mainly go by Anne Adeniji. I am a British-Nigerian, born in the city of Ibadan in Nigeria. My key values are respect, equality, honesty and excellence.

I moved to the UK at the age of seven with my family and grew up in the Midlands until I went to University in Sheffield. I have moved around both globally and nationally due to higher education and work opportunities. Having the opportunity to travel and see the world gives me energy and zeal to do more with my life and my career. I have a degree in Chemical Engineering with Modern Language and studied Chemical Engineering for a year whilst in Madrid completing my master’s research project.

Inclusion for me is the feeling of being part of a grand picture. Without you, the full picture of Wood cannot be completed. I joined Wood as a process engineer at the start of 2020, working in the Environment & Infrastructure team, based in London. The openness and interactions of my colleagues made me feel welcomed, coffee breaks, lunches and after-work social events, made me feel part of the team. I’ve been given opportunities to speak as a panellist about my career as a black female, and I respected the hosts for reaching out to include my voice, so early in my career.

It is important to stand up for who you are, and not succumb to racial or gender stereotypes. Being Nigerian, I have encountered subtle remarks about Nigerians being fraudsters and con men. These statements stay with you and created a need to prove I am trustworthy. The use of my native name ‘Olubukola’ can confuse people and it has often become a joke, leading me to adopt my English name. This experience affected me, making me feel a loss of my identity. But since joining Wood, I have had many colleagues ask to call me by my real name, which has made me feel so happy to be part of a team that appreciates diverse backgrounds.

Luckily for me, I grew up in a community that embraced difference both racially and culturally. However, I’ve often experienced the feeling of being the only point of representation for my race and/or gender. This has developed into imposter syndrome and self-doubt as to whether I deserve the opportunity or if I’ve been included to meet a diversity and inclusion quota. I have sought mental health support around this. Through this I started to embrace my presence where others like myself may not be present, seeing it as an aspiration for others.

I understand how difficult it can be to ‘stand out like a sore thumb’, so I am always willing to include colleagues who may not feel so included. I like to think of myself as a people person. I’m always keen to extend the hand of friendship and take opportunities to introduce a person into a new group of friends, or spend time building a friendship. I like to give compliments or express my joy for even the smallest of tasks.

I am a member of several networks both internally and externally to the business. Many of these groups are centred on my interests in diversity and inclusion and race, including Celebrating Minority Excellence, Technology, Engineering and Finance.

It would be great if more colleagues understood my background and asked appropriate questions that can help educate and aid their interactions with other members of our Wood community who are from similar backgrounds. I would love for colleagues to value how skills and differences in upbringing and abilities, can contribute to the wider group objective.

Temitope Solanke, senior manager intelligent operations

My story is not very much different from those who came before me and paved the way. I am originally from Lagos, Nigeria and moved to the UK about 15 years ago to further my studies. After completing my Masters, I was fortunate enough to receive three job offers in one week and proudly chose Wood. That was one of the best decisions I have made in my career. I’m part of an organisation and team that looks beyond the colour of my skin, gives me opportunities to rise and supports me; even sponsoring my executive MBA programme at the prestigious Warwick Business School.

I have always experienced the best of inclusion at the workplace. For me, inclusion means being part of something and everyone in an organisation should feel it regardless of creed, race, religion, or sexual orientation. I see my input as being part of what makes Wood a great company. I sit within the global leadership team for technical consulting and intelligent operations, and have been fortunate to be involved in different decision-making groups and feedback gathering initiatives that have helped position Wood as a company that promotes inclusion for all.

The key values I hold dear are integrity, respect, kindness, and relationships. These drive me. What makes me unique is my ability to stay calm in the face of very difficult and challenging situations, and my leadership style. I believe that leaders are respected due to the power of their example, not the example of their power. This defines how I currently, and always will, lead.  For those who work in my group across the EAME region, I make sure everyone knows that their input adds to the success of the team and give them a sense of belonging and ownership, motivating them to give 100%.

All I need from all my colleagues is to treat one another with the respect they want to be treated with. If there is someone who deserves a promotion based on merits, why hold it back because of their colour? Will you wish for your colour to be a hinderance to your growth within an organisation? At the end of the day, the genius of achieving inclusion is respecting everyone the way you want to be respected.

I am passionate about giving back, and I do my best to empower young professionals. I started a non-profit charity organisation that provides a platform that will empower, support, develop, and facilitate leadership and professional career development for aspiring, young and experienced professionals. We’ve secured many high net worth individuals and industry leaders at CEO level to attend our networking events and seminars.

I have been a fighter all my life. Not because I’ve felt battles set up against me, but because I have never wanted to be in a position where things were handed to me. I’ve pushed myself to achieve, to ensure that I worked harder than the next person and am fanatical about accomplishing both personal and professional goals. I always have a target or goal I work towards, meaning I constantly push or move the goalpost once I achieve something. I believe this really helps maintain my wellbeing.