Ahead of the launch of Women in Towers, TowerXchange spoke with Ginette Kilroy, Chief People Officer at Cornerstone who shared how the towerco has approached improving diversity and bringing new talent into the sector
TowerXchange: Cornerstone is a founding partner of Women in Towers. Can you please tell us a bit more about your decision to support it and how it ties with Cornerstone’s values?
Ginette Kilroy, Chief People Officer, Cornerstone: Our values at Cornerstone are simple but powerful: 'Everyone matters', 'Do the right thing', 'Innovate to elevate', and 'Customer first'. Supporting Women in Towers was a no-brainer for us; it aligns perfectly with who we are.
Personally, I felt that it was time women in our part of telecoms had a space of their own. There's already a fair bit out there for women in tech and construction more broadly, but nothing that really speaks to the tower industry specifically. That’s where our passion to be involved came from, to help build that space and bring brilliant women together.
At the heart of it, this is about inclusion. Everyone really does matter, and we’re committed to listening to every voice. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because diverse thinking leads to better ideas, better outcomes, and a stronger industry. If we want to bridge the skills gap, we need to attract and support a wide range of talent.
And let’s not forget, we’re here to serve communities across the UK. Half the population is women, so why wouldn’t we want to reflect that in our teams, our partners, and our thinking? It just makes sense.
TowerXchange: How have you made ESG, D&I and DEI more than buzzwords and put a DEI strategy into action?
Ginette Kilroy, Chief People Officer, Cornerstone: We’re still fairly early in our DEI journey, but we’ve made some strong progress over the last couple of years. We’ve developed a five-year strategy that we’re now rolling out, and we’ve backed that up with real actions, not just words.
We’ve signed the Women in Ofcom pledge, which is all about driving senior female representation in tech roles. We’re also partnering with 55/Redefined to make sure we’re building age inclusivity into how we attract, support and retain talent across the business.
When it comes to awareness and education, we’ve run sessions on neurodiversity and religion, as well as a series of lunch-and-learns to open up conversations across a whole range of D&I topics. It’s about making space for different perspectives and making sure everyone feels seen and supported.
We’re building momentum and learning as we go, but the commitment is real, and it’s embedded in how we think, how we work, and how we grow.
TowerXchange: How has the implementation of your strategy changed things for the company and the people?
Ginette Kilroy, Chief People Officer, Cornerstone:The strategy is really starting to make a difference, not just in the numbers, but in how people feel. We’re proud to have achieved Great Place to Work certification, and some of the feedback from our people has been really encouraging.
For example, 96% said they feel treated fairly regardless of sexual orientation, and 94% said the same about race or ethnicity. Our inclusivity engagement score hit 86%, which is a big jump from where we were when I stepped into this role five years ago.
We’ve also made real progress on gender representation. Our senior leadership team is now 50% female, up from just two women out of seven when I joined. Across the company, we’ve gone from 22% female representation to 34%, and we’re still climbing.
It’s not just about who’s here today; we’re also thinking about the future. We’ve started bringing in T Level students aged 17–18, offering them real-world industry experience. We’ve currently got an engineering student on placement with us, getting hands-on for at least 45 days, not just studying theory, but applying it in a real environment.
So yes, we’ve made progress. But more importantly, we’re building something sustainable, inclusive, and future-focused.
TowerXchange: Where have you found the greatest difficulties in affecting positive change? What have you done to overcome challenges where you’ve found them?
Ginette Kilroy, Chief People Officer, Cornerstone: Some of the biggest challenges we’ve faced are time and resource. People want to get involved, but often they just don’t have the headspace alongside their day job. It’s not a lack of willingness; it’s a lack of capacity. And a lot of that ties back to the wider industry skills gap.
On top of that, there's the challenge of getting everyone to really buy into the idea that DEI isn't just a ‘nice to have’, it’s fundamental. Getting people to show up to a 'lunch and learn' or make time for training isn’t always easy when they’re up against deadlines and deliverables. But we’re starting to shift that mindset.
One of the things we’ve done is open up our recruitment beyond the usual industry circles. Telecoms can be a bit of a closed network; everyone knows everyone; and sometimes that leads to hiring people who “hit the ground running” because they’re familiar, they feel safe. But that can also shut the door on fresh perspectives. We’ve been deliberate about breaking that cycle and welcoming people from outside the sector, which means yes, you might need to give them more time to settle in, but that’s just how we grow.
There’s also still a bit of nervousness around DEI, especially when people think it’s only about supporting minority groups. That was something we saw early on, people feeling unsure of their place in the conversation. So, we’ve worked hard to make it clear: this is about everyone. That’s why our work with 55/Redefined on age inclusivity has been so powerful; it’s a reminder that inclusion cuts across every generation, every background.
At the end of the day, it’s about curiosity. We launched our strategy with a soft approach, inviting people to listen, learn and connect with others' experiences. And now, more and more people are leaning in, which tells us we’re moving in the right direction. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but we’re creating the space, and the culture, for it to happen.
TowerXchange: Have you included any external stakeholders such as customers or partners in your DEI efforts?
Ginette Kilroy, Chief People Officer, Cornerstone:
Absolutely! We know we can’t do this alone, so partnering with others has been a big part of how we’re trying to drive real change across the industry, not just within Cornerstone.
We work really closely with our in-house recruitment partner, Project People, particularly around the language we use in our job ads. We want to make sure what we put out into the market is welcoming and inclusive. We also track where diverse candidates might drop out of the process, and whether that’s linked to a D&I factor, so we can keep improving.
We’ve signed up to Ofcom’s Women in Tech pledge, and our General Counsel, Belinda Fawcett, chairs the Inclusivity Working Group, which I’m also part of. It’s great to see leadership so actively involved in driving this forward.
On the industry side, we’ve contributed to the Talent Working Group at UKTIN over the last 18 months, which is all about how we position telecoms to young people, and how we tell our story to schools, colleges and universities so they actually see a future here.
We’ve also had some really valuable conversations with the Prince’s Trust through the ITP, and we’ve brought in Diversity Marketplace, who are real experts in this space, to help guide us.
It’s a team effort; this isn’t something any one company can fix alone. But if we all lean in, we can absolutely move the dial together.
TowerXchange: What would you say is the best thing you've learned so far or is there something you wish you had done differently?
Ginette Kilroy, Chief People Officer, Cornerstone:
One of the biggest lessons has been just how important it is to bring others in from across the industry, but also how hard that can be. Our sector is competitive, and there are commercial and regulatory boundaries, which can make collaboration tricky. But when it comes to DEI, we’ve got to find a way to come together. This is bigger than any one organisation.
We all stand to benefit if we progress as an industry, and I don’t think we need to be as cautious as we sometimes are. Yes, we’re competing commercially; we’re all selling space on towers; but DEI shouldn’t be seen through that same lens. There’s still some nervousness around collaboration here, but I think we can move past that.
And maybe the most important thing I’ve learned? We can’t assume everyone is coming from the same place on this. People have different experiences, views, and levels of understanding. That’s why we have to keep making space for conversations, keep leaning in, and keep listening.
TowerXchange: For anybody reading this who might think a career in towers isn’t for them, what’s your elevator pitch to them to join our industry?
Ginette Kilroy, Chief People Officer, Cornerstone: Infrastructure is the place to be. If you’re looking for an industry that’s fast-paced, innovative, and constantly evolving, where you’ll be stretched, supported, and surrounded by brilliant people, then towers might surprise you.
No two days are the same. You’ll use every skill in your toolbox and probably discover a few new ones along the way. This is an industry packed with passionate, committed, smart people who genuinely care about what they do and the difference it makes.
We often say the “job for life” is gone, but I believe this is still an industry for life. Once you're in, you're in. You won’t want to leave.
