Northern

Imagine being told you’re the wrong gender for your job.

That’s what women in rail face every day. “Trains are for boys,” “You’ll get dirt under your nails,” “Engineering is a man’s job.” And while being told they can’t, they’re also told they shouldn’t. That it’s dangerous.

Add to that the shift work, late nights, tricky situations, and balancing home life – it’s a tough job for anyone.

The challenge

At Northern in 2025, less than 1 in 5 applications were from women.

Rail networks were also facing skill shortages. By failing to attract women to their teams, Northern was limiting itself to half the talent pool. We needed to help them widen their reach, remove those barriers, and present Northern as a place for everyone.

Our solution

Led by Employer Brand Manager Gina Edge, who had felt those stereotypes firsthand, we wanted to show that the barrier was never about capability – but outdated perceptions.

So, we spoke to colleagues across Northern – women and men – from conductors to engineers to senior leaders. Even customers on platforms! Their stories revealed the barriers, the successes, and the moments that deserved to be celebrated.

Many women sent us childhood photos, grinning in front of trains or looking excited on platforms. One thing was clear: Northern wouldn’t be the business it is today without the incredible women who live, breathe, and dream about rail.

That’s how “We’re not Northern without Her” was born.

The creative here does all the talking. “Her” is literally embedded in Northern, showing women are central to everything they do. It inspired the hero video, and those same employees who shared their childhood photos were filmed at their stations and with their trains, bringing the story to life. Posters, ticket machines, and digital screens across every Northern station literally stopped people in their tracks.

We maximised every channel on their budget. Meta campaigns drove traffic to their site, ads on Indeed and Glassdoor boosted visibility, new platforms like Flexa reached candidates seeking positive culture and flexibility, and LinkedIn amplified colleague advocacy.

By grounding their campaign in insight and securing senior sponsorship, we created something that celebrated their colleagues, inspired women to apply, and highlighted the exciting opportunities business-wide

The results

Since the campaign’s launch in December 2025, the campaign’s delivered immediate and remarkable results:

The results we’re seeing today are just the beginning. But it’s clear that when opportunity is inclusive to everyone, Northern moves forward – together.