In this episode, Alastair speaks with Kate Heathcote, a solutions architect, engineer, musician, and mother navigating life at the intersection of Gen X independence and Millennial collaboration. At 42, she reflects on how her dual upbringing shaped her need for validation, how stubbornness led her to engineering, and why she believes community support for parents has weakened.

Kate opens up about being one of only a handful of women in her university engineering cohort, navigating gender bias in the workplace, and what has (and hasn’t) changed for female engineers today. She also shares her perspective on parenting later in life, the importance of open communication across generations at work, and her hope that organisations will step up to support parents more proactively.

Kate Heathcote Takeaways:

 • Growing up with two families taught Kate resilience but also fuelled a strong need for validation.
• Female representation in engineering has improved at school level but still lags in industry.
• Contrary to stereotypical thinking older generations in engineering remain curious and adaptable.
• Parenthood highlights how much community support has eroded in modern life.
• Millennials act as a bridging generation, valuing collaboration and shared goals.

Kate Heathcote Links

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