Tara Fraser

We asked Tara…

what’s one great thing that you love about civil engineering that you didn’t know until you started working in the industry?

I never really appreciated just how diverse the industry is.

I’ve been able to experience abseiling off bridges and mast structures, inspection of MoD facilities and structures, working on airports, laboratories and so on. Each project has its own unique specifications.

We build custom buildings designed for the client, with due consideration for the site and boundary conditions. 

which civil engineering myth(s) you would like to bust?

Contractors and sites are not a place for LGBT people. 

My experience has been that sites and contractors are far more interested in your professional delivery of projects and couldn’t care less about gender or sexuality.

I had some wonderful experiences during transition with Kier Western, Interserve and Vinci - all were very supportive.

would you recommend a career in civil engineering?

There’s so much variety. Where else can you be working inside an office and out on site all in the same day?

Thinking about the material and what’s best for the problem, while considering the costs and practical nature of construction.

Engineering is maths, chemistry and physics, with a bit of art and sketching, it really is like being a big kid being allowed to play with 1-2-1 scale toys.

what is your experience of being LGBTQ+ at work?

As a transgender person, I used my work environment to hide and dived headlong into a career to avoid having to deal with my gender dysphoria, always focusing on the next step of the ladder, putting them in as excuses - until 2012.

In that year, my world collided, and I had to start a process of change, which then meant dealing with work, staff and clients, over a six-month period.

Work gave me the flexibility to move around the UK and find a place that I felt comfortable enough to be me. I spent over a decade being two people, one in the office and another out of work.

I encountered during my transition a director that couldn’t communicate with me in any way and placed another fellow associate director between himself and me. 

Over a two-year period, I barely had more than a few minutes of face-to-face communication. This was my main reason for leaving a job position.

what is your experience of diversity in the built industry?

The industry itself doesn’t really think about diversity in any great detail – there’s a bit too much lip service to ensure they tick the box for tendering purposes - but it’s improving with time.

At present, it still has an image issue and needs to be considerate and think about how it sells itself to the next generation.

People have to be made aware of their own internal bias they carry, as well as the privilege they have if they’re born as a white, cis-gendered, hetero male.

This isn’t often recognised in engineering, but it needs to be considered. 

All people need to understand their own identities and privileges, as this has influenced, and can influence, the selection of staff during interviews, and not for the positive.

what about being a civil engineer inspires you?

Looking forward to the next problem, and figuring out a solution, while being able to work with members of the public to create their dream, or to help them understand what’s going on in their home with cracks and movement.