Positive impact. Image: From top left clockwise – Sonja Slinger , Gillian Carby , Kate Schowalter, Cameille A. T.
To mark International Women’s Day 2025 we posed three questions to women across Cohesive and Bentley: What work are you proud of? How can we close the equality gap? And which woman did you most admire in ’24?
Gill Carby | Business Development Director, based in Manchester UK
Work you are proud of? I’m proud to have recently featured in Women’s Health Magazine. The article was about how I was diagnosed with ADHD, aged 42, and the transformative role for me of a regular exercise/weight training programme.
Within work, I am most proud of my client retention metrics. I have averaged 94 per cent retention over five years in a highly competitive space. This resulted from continual improvement initiatives tailored and adapted so our solutions and services evolved as our clients’ needs and business evolved.
It has been such a highlight for me working with our clients, building strong relationships, responding to their feedback and then working with our leaders, consultants, technical experts, developers and innovators to drive better solutions and outcomes. And last year, I received a Founders Award and secured my promotion to director.
I am also honoured to be part of the Bentley Systems (Cohesive is a Bentley company) Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Alliance.
Your 2024 she-ro? I admire Grace Beverley, a 28-year-old entrepreneur from the UK with three successful companies. She stood out for me when she was campaigning for equality in venture capital funding. Female founders receive just 2 per cent of VC funding in the UK across all industries (UK treasury, 2021). She successfully secured VC funding for her company, TALA.
Grace, like me, has been diagnosed with ADHD, and she is inspirational.
Inside of Bentley Systems I have been inspired by Kelsey Click, MBA , Gina Mazzulla , Melissa Ruth h & Jana Miller. The role that they have played chairing the initiatives in Bentley’s Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Alliance has had such a positive impact on me and so many other employees. Sharing their stories, mentoring, and supporting people on their journey – they are amazing.
How we could all help ‘accelerate action’ to advance equality in our professional and / or home lives? Take positive action, no matter how small, every day. I read a quote that resonated with me “Your habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.” It reminds us that small, consistent actions taken every day can have a significant impact over time.
The difference a tiny improvement can make over time is astounding. If you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.
The actions I take every day are a sign of my commitment to being the best possible version of myself. I take the time to build both my physical and mental strength, to be the best mum to my daughter and two dogs, the best colleague to my team members and the best representation of our company to our clients and partners. I am respectful and respected in my role as my passion and commitment to my career and personal development shine through.
Also, be strong enough to challenge situations that seem out of alignment with with professionalism and respect.
Sonja Slinger | Senior Project Manager, based in Sheffield, UK
Work you are proud of? Managing a large and complex program of training across a suite of Bentley products across several locations within the UK. This included conducting a full training needs analysis, creating associated training guides and examples and orchestrating and delivering a training schedule within a short timeframe to a large and diverse user group. It required strong stakeholder management, an understanding of user needs and good teamwork both internally as well as with the user directly. It was an intense and time consuming project, but pulling this off was very gratifying and really cemented my love for project management!
Your 2024 she-ro? Enas Al-Ghoul – an agricultural engineer. She found a way of desalinating seawater into drinking water using the scarce material available to her (wood and glass) to ensure the people of Gaza had access to safe, drinkable, water. What an amazing and inspirational woman!
How we could all help ‘accelerate action’ to advance equality in our professional and / or home lives? Create a safe space for conversations to encourage open and respectful discussions around equality and inclusion both at home and in the workplace. And most importantly, lead by example!
Cameille Thomas | Manger (Services), based in Ontario, Canada
Work you are proud of? Becoming a people manager has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my career this far. I genuinely enjoy mentoring and supporting my team, fostering their growth both professionally and personally. It’s extremely rewarding to see their progress and know that I’ve done all I can to set them up for success.
Your 2024 she-ro? Our very own Melissa Ruth truly stood out for me. I quietly celebrated her milestones as she bravely navigated her journey against cancer. It was inspiring to see her continue to make meaningful connections between her personal experiences and her professional work, like emphasizing the importance of preventative maintenance and continuous improvement in hospital equipment. Despite her challenges, she remained dedicated to her community, attending conferences and showcasing her strengths both personally and within the reliability space. Her resilience and commitment have been nothing short of remarkable.
One way we could all help ‘accelerate action’ to advance equality in our professional and/or home lives? In our personal lives, for those surrounded by kids, whether within the family or in other settings, it’s important to teach children about equality and respect for all. Introducing these values at a young age can inspire them to confidently express and uphold these principles in their own settings, such as in sports and schools. By fostering this mindset early on, we can hope that this attitude becomes contagious to us all, leading to a more inclusive and equitable society.
Professionally, we must first recognize that everyone, regardless of their level within the organization, is uniquely positioned to mentor and support one another. By acknowledging each other’s strengths and advocating for professional recognition and opportunities, we can create a workplace where empowerment thrives across the board. This environment allows individuals to shine and build confidence, ultimately contributing to a more dynamic and impactful workforce.
Kate Showalter P.Eng | Senior Services Manager, based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Work you are proud of? Working on the team that recently won a work management modernization project for a major American utility company. There was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears poured into making it happen, much of it over the holidays. Despite the crunch getting it over the finish line, some of the work in getting this delivered was the most fun I’ve had in my career. I particularly enjoyed the oral presentations on site and some of the negotiations with the prime contractor and the client on the final bid.
Your 2024 she-ro? I feel a bit silly listing a hockey player – but Marie-Philip Poulin comes to mind. I’ve been a long-time women’s hockey fan (RIP Calgary Inferno!) and before 2024, women’s hockey was largely treated as a “once every four years” kind of thing coinciding with the Olympics – it was never front of mind for most people. Seeing the PWHL take off and be so successful is going to change the game for women’s hockey, and it’s going to inspire more girls to get into the sport. Having a superstar like Poulin to look up to showing up in televised games almost weekly instead of every few years when an Olympic or IIHF World Championship game happens is just going to get more girls interested in the sport and have heroes to look up to.
One way we could all help ‘accelerate action’ for equality in our professional and or home lives? Recognizing and promoting each other – it’s much easier to ignore or downplay someone’s accomplishments than to uplift them. Take some time to recognize the good work people are doing, show it off to others, introduce them to others, and help build networks. We’ll all collectively do better working together and lifting each other up than tearing each other down.
Interviews by Elizabeth Owen