Trish Johnson, has been the Bridge Master for the last eight years, tasked with looking after the structure, which is managed by the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust. She is currently overseeing one of the biggest restoration projects on the bridge, which was opened in 1864.
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00:00I see myself as an engineer. I mean, that's where I am.
00:05I got this role because I'm an engineer, not because I'm a woman.
00:10So I am here stood right at the end of the Clifton Suspension Bridge,
00:14a Grade 1 listed structure that was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
00:19And it has become a massive part of the city.
00:22And the bridge master is a woman.
00:25So what my day-to-day job involves,
00:28at the minute, I'm very focused on the main big project.
00:31So I'm talking to the contractor, Taziker, about what we're doing next
00:36and any issues that have come up or anything that we need to discuss or agree.
00:40So I'm doing that on a regular basis with them.
00:43We have a team in the museum. We've just got a newly accredited museum and archive.
00:49So we have tours going on for the visitors.
00:52And it's a Grade 1 listed structure.
00:55And not many Grade 1 listed structures are actually a working structure.
00:59Let's find out what it's like to be a woman in a male-dominated engineering industry
01:04running the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
01:07The engineering industry is still and has been forever, really, very male-dominated.
01:14So what has that been like for you?
01:16Well, when I started, I started my engineering career doing a degree 40 years ago.
01:22And at that time, there was probably about 10% of women in the industry.
01:27And I would have thought by now, 40 years on, we would be nearly at 50%.
01:32But sadly, we're about 15%, 16% of women in the industry.
01:36I'm hoping there's more. Younger women are coming through now.
01:40But it is important that we try and get more and more women into the industry.
01:45And as I say, the women are the multitaskers.
01:48So project management and all of that is much more easy for us.
01:52Lots of girls and young women are going to be looking up to you thinking,
01:55I could maybe do that one day.
01:57What do you think it means to other women in the city to have you as the bridgemaster?
02:03Well, I suppose I'm a bit of a role model.
02:07I don't see myself as a role model.
02:09I see myself really as an engineer who's got the job on this iconic structure.
02:15But the fact that I'm a woman, the first female bridgemaster to look after this bridge,
02:21I suppose, stands for something.
02:23And if it can bring more women girls into engineering, that would be fantastic.
02:29I mean, it's a great opportunity. It's a great career.
02:32And if I had to do my career all over again, I wouldn't change a bit of it.
02:36So, you know, I really do love what I've done here so far.
02:40And are you proud to be the bridgemaster?
02:42Yeah, so proud. I mean, it's a really great role to have.
02:46But I've also got a really fantastic team behind me. I don't do any of this alone.
02:50I've got a great team who support me along the way.
02:53So between us all, we are really proud to look after this brilliant bridge.