Thames Water receive more women applying for jobs after changing wording of adverts

The company used an online tool that finds hidden implications in language after only 8 per cent of applicants for sewage work technician jobs were from women last year.

It highlighted phrases such as "competitive", "confident" and "champion" as being "masculine coded", the company said.

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Thames Water changed wording to include phrases such as "we welcome people who want to learn and be team players" in a new advert for the £13 per hour process technician role.

Since the launch of the new advert, the number of applications from women has risen to 46 per cent.

The drive to recruit more women into operational roles was led by Thames Water's women's network and comes ahead of International Women in Engineering Day on June 23.

Lucia Farrance, who led the project, said: "In order to bring about real change, women need more seats at the table and I am really proud that this initiative is starting to achieve just that.

"There is a huge pool of untapped female talent out there and it is great to see some of that showing through in the recruits coming into the frontline teams at Thames Water.

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"We are extremely passionate about championing the importance and benefits of a diverse and equal workforce. Gender should never be a barrier."

One of the successful applicants for the job was Rachael Trigg, 24, who is now responsible for maintenance and repairs at Chieveley Sewage Works in Newbury, Berkshire.

She is mother to Henry, aged 10 months, and said the job fitted in well with caring for him.

"There might be certain things I can't do, like heavy lifting, but we're a team so we help each other out," she said.

"I don't see anything here that makes it a male-specific role. Women are really missing out if they think a job like this isn't for them."