Our story
I just thought, I’m sick of this.
How an inspection and testing engineer from a family of engineers set out to make the workwear she and the women around her could never find.
Not the plan
“When I was younger, I didn’t want to be an engineer. It wasn’t on my mind at all.”
Then her GCSE results came through and the path she’d pictured closed. Her dad, a service engineer, asked a simple question: why not engineering? Her brother is an engineer. So was her grandad. “I never really considered that, but I’ll give it a try. And here I am now.”
Her dad had seen what the industry could offer: companies that look after their people, and careers that aren’t restricted to one pathway.
The only woman in the room
Her first day at college, Sophie walked into the classroom dressed as herself, full glam on. “Everyone just went silent.”
She was nervous, but she was excited too. Being the only woman meant her voice would be heard. She got her apprenticeship at 17, and the hardest part wasn’t the studying. It was having to prove herself before she had the knowledge to back it up.
“The more confidence I got, the more hands-on I got, the more stupid questions I asked. That’s the only way I was able to develop.”Sophie Marshall
People assumed her femininity would hold her back on the tools. Then they watched her do the job. Today she works as an inspection and testing engineer, and has seen the industry change a lot in the six or seven years she’s been in it.
The problem nobody fixed
Some barriers get talked about. Others don’t: basic consideration for women’s health, like sanitary bins in the toilets. And workwear.
“The workwear not being correct, it’s a health and safety issue at the end of the day.”Sophie Marshall
Women she worked with held meetings to try to source suitable workwear, and got nowhere. Most just put up with it. “When I first started, and the majority of other women that I know, you just kind of get on with it.”
When people told her it was just workwear, put on whatever you’re given, it was mainly men. Her approach: hear them out, then be the one who changes their mind.
“Why don’t I try to start investing in it?”Sophie Marshall, January 2026
Building it properly
Just after New Year 2026, Sophie started looking for manufacturers. Many never replied. It took two to three months to find one able to design around women, and as a newcomer to clothing manufacturing, she wasn’t always taken seriously.
“People didn’t really take me seriously because I wasn’t familiar with the terms and the requirements, but we eventually got there.” She found a manufacturer she describes as really, really good.
The first sample arrived and, looking back, it was “absolutely horrendous”. The measurements just weren’t right. She was proud of it anyway.
“It was a good starting point. I felt very, very proud of it coming through. Oh, it’s actually happening. I can’t go back on this now.”Sophie Marshall
She’s put her savings into it, and she’s willing to take that risk. “We haven’t rushed into anything.” The aim is a business built on solid foundations, with a brand and a community behind it from day one.
What HERSTEEL stands for
Valued. Confident. Comfortable. Feminine.
“HERSTEEL is about feeling valued, feeling confident, feeling comfortable, feeling feminine, and also creating opportunities for yourself and progressing as a woman in engineering.”
Sophie still works in engineering, and has no plans to leave. “My life has been dedicated to engineering. A lot of that has been fuelled into HERSTEEL.”
