Women in the Rail Industry

That the Parliament welcomes the call by the rail operator, LNER, for the sector to improve gender diversity; acknowledges that women currently make up 42% of LNER's workforce, compared with an industry average of 16%; notes that research published by the company suggests that 85% of women of working age across the UK have never considered a career in rail and that 60% believes that the sector is not relevant to their skills or expertise; welcomes LNER's initiative for International Women's Day 2020 to rebrand the iconic "Flying Scotsman" service between Edinburgh and London King's Cross as the "Flying Scotswoman" for the month of March, and to staff the entire service on 6 March with women; applauds the work of LNER in raising awareness of the range of opportunities for women in rail through the introduction new technologies and fleets and expanding projects, and hopes to see more women employed in the rail industry across Scotland.