Coming from a family full of Engineers, it was a clear career path for Sheila

It runs in her blood – at least on the male side of the family. Sheila corrected the imbalance and is now one of many successful female engineers at JLR.

Her expertise is seat belts – still one of the most important single components in vehicle safety, says Sheila (and many other engineers agree). “They save lives. As soon as people started to wear seat belts, injuries in car accidents fell.” She saw the new Defender through to production and is now working on packaging seat belt components more efficiently and effectively for future models.

At first, Sheila’s career choice was a compromise.

“When I was at school, I wanted to do technical subjects. But we weren’t allowed because we were girls. But I was also good at art, so I went into graphic design.”

After her two children were born, she changed careers, studying manufacturing engineering at college. Sheila then took a job with a German automotive design house with offices in the UK, before moving to SAIC, Chinese owners of MG and Rover.

That’s when she began working on safety systems, now her speciality. She first joined JLR as a contractor in the safety component group in 2008, before the economic downturn ended her contract. Sheila then worked in a school as an assistant on technology subjects. She rejoined JLR in 2010 – again as a contractor, and again on safety components. She became permanent in 2017.

“Having two young children wasn’t easy. My husband is also an engineer, so we worked the hours around the children, where possible, and when necessary, got family help or used after-school clubs. We also had a child minder for a while. It’s hard to have a full-time job and be a mum. But we managed.”

When Sheila joined JLR, she worked on airbags before moving to seat belts. She was involved in the Defender seat belt programme from the start. Seat belts are a simple idea but not a simple technology. There are numerous regulations and associated technologies. The seat belts must be strong enough to pass numerous tests. Now, there’s the NCAP safety assessment programme too. A high proportion of NCAP points come from the safety systems, including seat belts.

With the new Defender, like all cars, there were challenges in seat belt functionality, comfort and safety. A key point is the placement of the D-loop [that goes over the shoulder]. “It should touch a certain point on the clavicle of the shoulder. If it goes towards the neck, it can be uncomfortable. If it goes more to the shoulder, it may be comfortable, but it won’t perform its safety function as well, partly because it could slip off the shoulder.”

“Women’s anatomies are obviously different and that is also a factor. But I’ve been in this business a long time and I think we cater equally well for men and women. It is however easier to make a seatbelt fit comfortably on a larger male occupant than a small female, because the shoulder in broader so there’s easier placement for the D-loop.”

Physical crash testing can also be a nervous time for a safety engineer.

“We’ve done all the testing so we’re confident. But it’s still always good to get the official sign off or the top NCAP score.”

Sheila notes with satisfaction that all the vehicles she’s worked on have all had five NCAP stars – the top rating. JLR is renowned for the safety of its vehicles, partly due to Sheila’s hard work. “Our goal is to create the safest cars in the world,” she says. Things have got much better for women since Sheila’s school days, when she was prevented from doing technical subjects. At JLR she says, “I’ve never been treated any differently from the men. But in the past three to four years, the overall culture has also improved. It’s now more inclusive for everybody and that makes JLR a better place to work.”