Dig Like A Girl , Inspiring women to Drive Diggers

Aim

I want to encourage Women into Operating Diggers, Helping a Skill shortage and changing a fixed mindset on Women in Construction.

• #DIGGER KID - I was born on September 12th, 1980, my mum was a caterer and seamstress and my dad an excavator operator. Dad used to take me to work with him from me being 6 and by the age of 12 I was able to fully operate the Digger.I totally had the Digging bug 
• #NOT 4 GIRLS-Through High school I was told there simply wasn’t any way for me to pursue a career in excavation and pointed in the direction of doing work experience in a care home for the elderly. Although My Dad was encouraging I was constantly told by peirs that Digger driving just wasnt a Girls Job.!!!
• #DETERMINED 2 DIG- September 2001 I turned 21 when I was able to take my CITB Excavator Operator Licence test. I passed first time qualifying me to operate 360° Tracked Excavators up to 60 tonnes and making me the FIRST female in the North West of England and the YOUNGEST person in England to get the operations licence. 
• #JOB SATISFACTION It seemed forever waiting until I turned 21 to be able to get my operational licence but as soon as I did I worked for a building contractor on excavators varying from 1-45 tonne for almost 10 years. In 2010 I left for Australia with my now husband Gary and spent a year working for a building contractor on various excavators as this had been one of my ambitions.
• #HARD TIMES- Early 2012 Returning from Oz We had the Happy News of Exspecting our Daughter,  Followed by the Sad News that Gary was losing his Eyesight.. Financially unsecure,as neither of us were able to do our jobs and Gary needing 4 major sight saving Operations,we were forced to rely on Benifits and food bank Vouchers , NOT how We wanted to start life as new parents.
• #STRESSED OUT - After a Traumatic Birth and supporting Gary through his recovery and having no way of providing for ourselves I was Struggling as a New Mummy.
• #PND & DIGGING- I really struggled to believe in my self as Mum but with a Diagnosis  and after a few rocky years with the right medication and support from friends and family my confidence returned, and Gary found a way to live a new ‘normal’ life with his disability, feeling less dependent on me. With my dad’s encouragement I went back to operating machines at weekends and I litrally DUG my way out of depression. Having a Skill I knew I was good at was such a massive help.
• #BRIGHT FUTURE roll forward 3 years and we now own a small Excavation company which I started in January 2017 called Evans Excavation LTD, Operator and Excavator for Hire. This is myself and Digger doing various aspects of groundwork locally while Gary does the admin side of the business, in between being a stay at home dad. I love my job and am passionate about what I do and how far I have come.
• #DIG 4 CHANGE -Yet I am still in a minority and still come up against prejudice in the building trade which going into 2020 should not be acceptable but sadly it is.My dream is to encourage and show other woman that what has been seen as a ‘man’s job’ in the past is well within their reach and achievable with hard work, I would love to be in a position to employ them, train them and show that we can earn a decent wage for doing a decent job as Excavation Operator’s. My vision is to have a fleet of female Excavation Operators and a training school available to woman to learn this skill. 
• #PASSION & DRIVE  I have the drive to make this happen, to make it more accessible for woman to obtain this skill and have a career in this much needed trade like myself and discard outdated stereotypes. As a mother of a young girl I feel a responsibility to encourage and employ the industry’s next generation of skilled female workers, not only the value they will bring but also a more balanced work force. Recent stats show around 89% of worker’s in the building industry are male, this needs to change, and I want to be part of making this happen #diglikeagirl .

This project successfully funded on 6th May 2020