Spotlight on Women in Gas: Mumtaz Patel
In our ongoing series of case studies, we’re chatting to our members, finding out about their careers to date, how IGEM has supported them so far and, in celebration of International Women's Day, getting their thoughts on women in the gas industry. Here, Mumtaz Patel, Head of Operational Transition at Cadent and winner of the Manager of the Year Award at the Gas Industry Awards 2022, tells us her story so far.
Mumtaz has been in the gas industry since leaving school and has had a diverse career, which all began when she started on a Youth Training Scheme with British Gas at age 16. Undertaking the scheme, she spent time in various departments to find out which she liked best and ultimately decided that she enjoyed Customer the most. This is where she worked upon completion of the Youth Training Scheme, and where she went on to be promoted in various customer service roles before moving over to engineering design, where she designed non-standard connections.
Mumtaz then went back to Customer as a team leader in the call centre before the closure of the British Gas Bolton office prompted her to make a choice between leaving or moving to an operational role. Opting to take an operational role, Mumtaz then began her role as Network Supervisor on Connections – “at the time, I knew about gas pipes but didn’t know what a gas pipe looked like, so it was a sharp learning curve!”, she says.
“I remember the first operational meeting I went to where I was in heels and a dress – I got some strange looks from the team! Going out on site was very daunting but the teams were fantastic with me and taught me a lot, which gave me more confidence. Customers thought I was an apprentice and sometimes a young boy – it was quite funny when the lads introduced me as their manager.”
After this, Mumtaz went on to supervise mains replacement work: “again, a bigger challenge, working with contractors on some big jobs in the coalition – going from single services to mains and services. Lots to learn, and I loved it”, she says.
“Again, the people I worked with were great. Even though this is a male-dominated industry, I was always looked after and made to feel included, and the teams were always very respectful. There were a few instances of tempers flaring but that is normal in any workplace.”
“I did various other supervisory roles then moved back into a manager role – a more office-based role but always interfacing with operations. Many people I work with are surprised by my engineering background as I don’t fit what they think an engineer would look like, but I am now a Senior Leader in the organisation and interface with the operational processes. It hasn’t been an easy journey – I’ve had to work extremely hard, harder than male colleagues at times, and face some prejudice (more for gender than race). It is, and continues to be, challenging but it’s extremely rewarding – I think I have achieved the success I have because I have a slightly different outlook on my approach but work well with people and achieve positive results, and my influence helps people get results too.”
In her latest role, Head of Operational Transition, she is working on hydrogen development and operations and is creating a hydrogen operational transition programme for Cadent. The main focus areas in this role are conversion of the existing assets to transport hydrogen, workforce training and competence, development and strategy for a hydrogen fleet and digitalisation with a focus on Operations 4.0. She said: "The role is heavily involved in working with other Gas Distribution Networks, industry experts and suppliers/innovators to ensure a collaborative approach to future green energy and road to net zero."
Mumtaz is also the sponsor for Women in Cadent: “as a British-Asian Muslim female, I am a role model and inspire under-represented groups to show that they can do anything they want to. They may need to work a bit harder to get their voices heard but I say never give up and be brave enough to have difficult conversations as this will help us to make changes to the face of our industry with a more inclusive and diverse workforce.”
“Working in the gas industry is very rewarding – everyday is different and there is so much to learn. It is flexible but does require dedication and hard work. Representation is increasing and I think women bring a different dynamic to operational roles. A lot of the work is around project management, making sure the challenges you come across along the way can be resolved. We also have a big skills shortage in the area so attracting more women into the industry or retraining people who already work in the industry will help to bridge the gap.”
“For me, having plenty of role models for people to aspire to is a real key – although basic hygiene factors need to be fixed quickly as this will help with retention. Working in operations is more than just a 9-5 role, as it often requires standby commitments – this seems to be a blocker for females to enter the industry but, if this is managed well, it would create more flexible working, especially for those with young families. The more difficult challenge is to change the culture, which will see increases in recruitment – this is white male-dominated industry and people do recruit based on what they know and what is comfortable. There needs to be more work around Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and the benefits of having a more diverse workforce. We need more white male ambassadors who encourage the industry to improve diversity. We at Cadent are working really hard to create a more inclusive and diverse workforce – this has commitment from all the senior leaders and we’re starting to see a change. Difficult conversations are happening, and people are listening to the real issues and working to make a real difference.”
Amongst her achievements are her educational qualifications of an MSc in Construction Management and a BA in Business Studies. Mumtaz has also lectured undergraduate engineering students at the University of Bolton. Her career highlights include being responsible for the installation of an Intermediate Pressure gas pipeline, successfully transitioning into an operational role, being the sponsor of Women in Cadent (which she calls a “real privilege”) and winning the Gas Industry Awards Manager of the Year award.
Discussing her Manager of the Year win and offering some thoughts on management style and leadership, Mumtaz says “good leaders are able to motivate and inspire people. They have positive energy and are passionate about what they do. I believe that everyone is a cog in the wheel to deliver an outcome so they should all be treated with the same respect. I empower people to grow and develop. Transformational leadership is key for me – setting strategic goals for a team so they know how to achieve the company goals but also develop themselves. A sense of belonging is created as well as knowing they are trusted to make decisions. Democracy is important so people are all able to share their views without fear. Engagement is critical for me to be a successful manager as well as being kind, firm and fair, and having fun together along the way creates a strong and high performing team.”
On becoming an IGEM member, Mumtaz says she became a member when she was studying for her MSc – “it was important to understand the industry better and keep on top of current and future developments. I’ve since become a Member Manager which gives me credibility in the industry and the membership gives me a lot of knowledge of the gas industry, especially at the moment with the move towards hydrogen and the role that IGEM is playing.”
Reflecting on her inspirations, Mumtaz says her engineering role model is Sheila Hesketh, the Distribution Manager at British Gas in the 1990s – “I was just starting my career and seeing this amazing lady managing gas distribution and a fully male team at this time was revolutionary. She inspired me to want to be like her and not let stereotypes limit my career choices.”
So, what advice does Mumtaz have? “Enjoy the experience as it’s a great industry and career to be working in. Don’t be afraid to challenge – don’t think that you have to be like everyone else. Find someone or a group who can support you so you can ask those questions which may be unique to you.”