Positive Representation of Women at the CIBSE Annual Lunch
The CIBSE Ireland Annual Lunch has become one of the primary networking events in the building services engineering sector’s social calendar. Industry come together to build their professional relationships with both new and old, discuss opportunities and facilitate the exchange of ideas and best practices. CIBSE also organise fantastic networking events for women in engineering and Lawler’s are strong supporters of the Women in Building Services Engineering (WiBSE) events organised by CIBSE throughout the year. The Lawler business are very passionate about making sure women in engineering are adequately supported to remain in engineering and the CIBSE WiBSE is great network to be part of.
Lawler’s growing business has increased its representation of women in this still very male-dominated industry and that is why it is great to see so many of their own females joining this prestige event on Friday 29th November at Croke Park. Our very own Laura McMahon, Director of Sustainability, who has been the CIBSE Vice-Chair since 2023 will join her female colleagues for a day of entertaining guests, renewing old acquaintances and making new introductions.
Lawler Group’s offering is pretty unique within the building services sector with their Building Services Consultancy, Lawler Consulting, offering M&E design services and Lawler Sustainability offering sustainability consulting services. They draw on their 40 year design experience in their consulting business to offer a range of sustainability services including:-
- Sustainability support in the planning process, e.g. external right-to-daylight assessments, glint & glare analysis and internal daylighting analysis;
- Increasing building asset value and yields through sustainability, i.e. gaining certification in the BREEAM, LEED, WELL and EDGE rating systems;
- Optimising client budget through digitisation and scenario modelling, including Part L compliance, building energy certificates, advanced energy modelling, computational fluid dynamics and overheating analysis;
- Protecting client businesses through sustainability, i.e. carbon disclosure programmes, creating your carbon roadmap and ESG reporting;
- Ensuring best sustainable outcomes through early engagement, e.g. massing analysis, mechanical and natural ventilation strategies and building retrofit.
Women in Engineering
Although engineering is a changing landscape and more women are coming in to the sector, as mentioned, it is still very male dominated. Given that half the population is made up of women, it’s interesting that this isn’t reflected in engineering itself. In a recent study, by Deepika Pandit, Structual Engineer, it was found:-
- Women are naturally less interested in engineering
- There are only few female role models in the field
- Women are often more exposed to and encouraged in fields like medicine or so
- Some believe the physical demands of construction make the field less appealing for women
These points highlight cultural stereotypes, lack of representation, and misconceptions about engineering’s demands. Addressing these issues through early exposure, mentorship, and challenging outdated narratives is key to inspiring more women to pursue engineering.
By changing the perception, women can have a fantastic career in engineering as it is a diverse and inclusive subject which requires skill, commitment, mental resilience, hard-work, intelligence, creativity, originality and a good attention to detail. For sure, women that already work in engineering will help shape the industry for the future. We need to lead by example and act as role models so that younger women are influenced to actively seek engineering qualifications as part of their career plan.
Lawler’s Women Leading by Example
At Lawler Group, we lead by example and here are a few of our own women who have a great and interesting career with us in engineering. We hope to inspire our young females of today to consider a career in engineering.
Laura McMahon, Director of Sustainability
Laura is a chartered engineer and a member of CIBSE and IEI with over 14 years post qualification experience.
After graduating, Laura worked for an engineering consultancy in the UK where she was part of the Sustainability Team and took on senior roles in connection with renewable energy strategies, building regulation compliance and sustainability planning reports for the Greater London Authority (GLA). Laura was responsible for composing energy reports, sustainability statements, energy performance certificates, BREEAM Assessments, Thermal models of all types of commercial and residential developments.
Laura joined Lawler Sustainability in 2018 and was appointed to Director of Sustainability in 2024. Laura has been leading her sustainability Team since her arrival on projects within all building sector categories. Laura’s Division delivers a wide range of services including Building Energy Modelling, Building Regulation Compliance, Sustainability Assessments, Energy Auditing, Grant Support and ESG Reporting.
Lisa Martin, Senior Sustainability Engineer
Lisa is a highly qualified sustainability engineer with experience working with clients on their Part L compliance and BER certifications. She has successfully managed energy performance and building compliance certificates for multiple large residential/commercial developments, as well as grant support applications for energy upgrades.
Lisa has further qualifications as BREEAM Assessor, Edge Expert, Fitwel Ambassador and HPI Assessor and now manages projects under these Green Buildings Certifications to achieve design and construction certification status.
Kayleigh-Ann Myles, Sustainability Engineer
Kayleigh-Ann has a background in Sustainable Energy Systems Management and has experience in energy management, carbon mapping, and sustainability consulting. Her leadership in ESG reporting has helped position her as ESG and Sustainability Reporting Lead within Lawler Sustainability.
She is a key player in the industry, driven by her passion for communication and innovative sustainability solutions, which makes her an integral part of any business looking to make the transition to Net Zero.
Sarah McEvoy, Senior Electrical Engineer
Sarah is a highly experienced Electrical Engineer with more than 12 years in the industry with previous experience in Data Centre and critical electrical infrastructure across Mainland Europe and Australia.
She is great addition to the Lawler family and her input is invaluable as she works on many of our large projects including our very prestige historic building refurbishment – Tom Johnson House – part of the Public Sector Retrofit Pathfinder Project appointed by the Office of Public Works (OPW). It was the largest deep energy-saving retrofit project in the Republic of Ireland on record !
Anastasiya Furmanova, Mechanical Engineer
Anastasiya is a mechanical engineer with extensive knowledge in Magi CAD and Revit allow her to work effectively with other project team members.
Anastasiya is a highly respectable member of the team helping manage some of our larger clients to help make their buildings better and protect them from heat losses. She has the skills to implement engineering ask and evaluate the effectiveness of engineering solutions becoming an expert in the field of energy-efficient heating.
Working in our busy retail department, Anastasiya is very familiar with Lidl’s projects in Ireland working on both new build and refurbishment projects preparing mechanical drawing including Lidl Bagenalstown which had an A1 energy rating – the first of its kind !
Lina Iaremenko, Project Engineer
Lina has a wide background in energy saving solutions previously working in the commercial retail sector (large shopping centers 12,000-140,000 m2 with office buildings, restaurants, airport, car showrooms) where there are many challenges in terms of saving energy.
Her knowledge with different mechanical and electrical systems makes her expertise a welcome addition to the Lawler business with experience in implementing cooling systems with wet cooling towers and ice accumulators, heat recovery of ventilation systems, heat pumps and the use of heat from industrial refrigeration condensers.
She now supports the business in multiple sectors with saving energy solutions recently completing a mechanical concept design for a beautiful, old existing building in the heart of Dublin.
Our mission at Lawler Group is to make our buildings more energy-efficient, cost-effective to operate, and sustainable.
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