INTERVIEW | LYNNE JACK AN ENGINEER FIRST The new President of CIBSE, Professor Lynne Jack, is the first woman to hold the position. Here, she tells Alex Smith that the notion of women reaching senior positions in building services now needs to be considered the norm C IBSEs new President, Professor Lynne Jack FCIBSE FSoPHE, is a vastly experienced public health expert, whose research led to her being awarded the CIBSE Napier Shaw medal. She co-founded CIBSEs Inclusivity Panel and the Scottish region of the Society of Public Health Engineers (SoPHE), and is currently director of research at Heriot-Watt Universitys Malaysia campus, having spent 24 years at its Edinburgh site. Jack also happens to be the first female president in the 122-year history of CIBSE. For the Institution, it is a momentous moment, and a powerful signal that women can succeed in what has traditionally been a maledominated industry. Its significance is not lost on Jack, who says she has been sent many messages saying how fantastic it is that CIBSE now has a female President. As a woman, you have to be visible. Its really important to raise awareness that having a female president should now be the norm, but you also have to know you are being asked to do things because of your own merits and achievements, says Jack. Thats important to me, and to many of my female colleagues. First and foremost, I want to be known as the incoming President of CIBSE, and then as the Institutions first female President. In her presidential address, Jack was able to share positive news about the increasing number of female CIBSE Members. She said there had been a 4% increase in the past seven years, and pointed out that 23% of graduate members and 22% of student members are now female. Jack was very keen to point out that diversity is not just about improving male/female ratios. Its much wider than that. Theres clearly work to be done on gender, but its not the only characteristic that the CIBSE inclusivity panel is looking at. She is keen to ensure that diversity and inclusivity are part of CIBSEs make-up. They should not be a separate stand-alone strand, Jack says, but should be embedded in the pillars of CIBSEs strategy namely, membership, knowledge, building performance, voice and engagement. Attracting a new generation of 22 June 2019 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Jun19 pp22-23 Lynne Jack.indd 22 24/05/2019 16:14