We’re lucky to have lots of fantastic women in our workforce & are committed to being a place where women’s careers thrive and their achievements are celebrated. For this year’s International Women’s Day, we spoke to a few of our female colleagues about what it’s like to work at Hastoe and in social housing.
Our Operations Director, George, is 1 of 2 women in our 5-person Executive Team. So to kick things off for International Women’s Day, we chatted to her about why she thinks it’s important to have women in leadership roles.
Women make up half the population, so why shouldn’t we be represented at all levels in the workforce? It’s also important to demonstrate that women don’t need to make a choice between having a family and a career – it is possible to have both”
Development Manager, Sophie joined Hastoe back in 2018. Her role means she’s involved in all stages of the development process, with the design stage being the most rewarding stage: “The design and planning stage is probably the most frustrating stage and it can be a real slog because each development we build is different. But for me it's the stage I like the most.”
Find out more about Sophie’s role
Claire joined our Housing team as Regional Manager in August 2020. Here she shares how her career in social housing began:
I was training to become a Mortgage Advisor when I got a job in the Sales team of a housing association. At my induction a Housing Officer talked about their role & immediately knew that’s what I wanted to do. As soon as the right job came up I applied and was lucky enough to get it. I’ve never looked back.”
Helen has been at Hastoe for over 13 year now and as Executive Assistant to our CEO, Executive Team and the Board. From organising Board away days to managing the community grant fund, Helen really does sit at the heart of Hastoe: “It's so nice to have the balance of supporting the corporate side of things, but also managing the Community Grants and compliments. It's very varied and interesting. Working so closely with the Executive team and the Board means I get to really understand how Hastoe works and see the impact of what we do on the lives of our residents."
Find out more about Helen’s role
Construction & development is often seen as a male-dominated industry, however not only do we have a female Development Director, Ulrike Maccariello but also a female Regional Development Manager, Isobel, who tell us more about her role & what she does at Hastoe:
I oversee the development programme in Hastoe’s East region. I’m responsible for ensuring that our schemes are delivered on time & within budget. I also engage with local communities & councils from conception through to completion of the new homes.”
