International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate achievements, but also to reflect on the experiences that shape women’s careers. This is especially the case in industries that haven’t always offered equal visibility.
At CDS Print Services, we asked women across the business to share the success and challenges they have faced. Reflecting on their own careers as women in print. Their stories reveal resilience, adaptability, and a shared determination to build a more inclusive industry for future generations.
For Kirsty Colley, entering print at a young age meant being “thrust into management positions really early on”. Often without the benefit of strong role models or formal training. She describes having to learn quickly, sometimes through mistakes, because “there was no training at the time”. How expectations were high in fast‑moving operations environments.
Similarly, Claire Blythe recalls starting out as a young woman in a highly technical environment. She described that “there weren’t many women on the print side of things”. She often felt she had to prove herself to be taken seriously, especially when handling major accounts that required both technical expertise and calm under pressure.
These shared experiences paint a picture familiar to many women in print. Stepping into demanding roles early, navigating expectations, and learning through necessity.
Several contributors reflected on how the industry has evolved over time.
Michelle Watkins, who entered print 25 years ago, remembers it as “a very male‑dominant industry, particularly on the technical side”. Building respect meant developing a strong technical knowledge base so she could hold her own in conversations and decisions traditionally dominated by men.
Carrera McGrath also noticed the disparity. Particularly during her time in business development, where she often saw “a lot of men as salespeople”. She rarely encountered women in similarly senior or client‑facing roles.
Kirsty Colley observes that even today, women are still concentrated in administrative functions rather than in production, warehouse, or dispatch roles. She notes:
“It would be really good to see more women in some of the predominantly male‑dominated roles… you see a lot of women in admin or HR, but rarely in print, dispatch or warehouse roles.”
Despite differing personal experiences of gender bias, all agree that representation remains uneven—and that visibility has a direct impact on equality.
Women across the team highlighted the pressure to build technical knowledge quickly to be taken seriously.
For Sian Buckland, gaining confidence with specialist equipment, workflows and software was a major challenge early on. Particularly while working in high‑pressure scanning and production environments. Delivering accuracy under tight deadlines meant she needed to: “build confidence in my technical knowledge while navigating fast‑paced deadlines and complex client expectations.” Her willingness to ask questions and invest time in learning helped her overcome these barriers.
Claire Brown also emphasised the challenge of communicating technical detail to clients, especially early in her career. She found confidence grew only through “always asking questions, always learning”. Leaning on supportive colleagues across production and client services.
Many challenges weren’t just gender‑related—they were tied to the rapid evolution of print itself.
Nicole Fletcher described navigating a hybrid print–digital environment and the complexity of public‑sector bidding. She had to build confidence in rooms where she was often one of few women present. She also noted the challenge of “crosstalk in meetings”, where young women can feel overshadowed, especially in male‑dominated spaces.
Claire Brown reflected on the upheaval caused by the COVID‑19 pandemic, which forced a complete shift in workflows—from manual print planning to fully digital systems—almost overnight. This sudden change created new pressures and increased the learning curve during an already stressful period.
Whilst not facing direct discrimination, many women described the emotional labour involved in “representing” women in print.
Sian Buckland shared that in technical environments, she sometimes felt she needed to prove her competence simply because women were less visible in those roles. Building credibility required consistent delivery, resilience, and a willingness to challenge outdated assumptions.
Carrera McGrath echoed this, noting that seeing women in senior leadership roles are still uncommon. Making it harder for younger women to imagine themselves progressing. More visible female role models, she believes, would make a meaningful difference to both aspiration and retention.
Despite the challenges, a unifying theme across every story is resilience—shaped by supportive colleagues, mentors, managers, and team cultures.
Katie Tillotson recalls the early years of print being tough, building “a thicker skin” while navigating male‑dominated production environments. Yet she credits colleagues who offered guidance and encouragement as instrumental to her success.
Michelle Watkins, too, is clear that strong support networks and mentorship have been vital throughout her 25‑year journey. A career across purchasing, sales, technical roles, and leadership.
Nicole Fletcher describes a former female manager as “pivotal” in shaping her confidence and approach to bid management. Reinforcing the need for senior figures and role models who champion women actively.
Across every interview, mentorship isn’t a ‘nice‑to‑have’. It is the difference between merely surviving and genuinely thriving.
Together, the experiences shared by the women of CDS Print Services paint a picture of an industry that is evolving. Driven forward by resilience, curiosity, collaboration and a passion for continuous learning.
While each contributor has faced their own challenges, every story also reflects progress. Stronger mentorship, growing representation, more inclusive cultures, expanding technical opportunities. An industry that is becoming more dynamic, diverse and future‑focused.
Their journeys show that print offers rewarding, multi‑pathway careers where hard work is recognised, skills are valued, and women are increasingly seen, heard and celebrated. With more women entering technical, creative, operational and leadership roles than ever before, the future of print is not only brighter — it’s more balanced, more vibrant and full of possibility.
If you too are a “Woman in Print”, we’d love to hear your stories and reflections on your career. Please do drop a note through to info@cds-print.co.uk or use our Contact Us function.