International Women in Engineering Day - Where is the industry at, and how are we leading the change

International Women in Engineering Day is this Sunday 23rd June 2024. The theme this year is Enhanced by Engineering, and it’s a day to celebrate female engineers and the amazing contribution they are giving to the sector.

Dr Megan Finnie, Chair of IPWEA NSW & ACT's Women in Public Works Panel says, "Women engineers are more likely to experience harassment or discrimination in the workplace. And often people assume a range of stereotypes about female engineers, based on their gender or what they see. It’s easy to group people into a “box”, and then infer generalisations of that person based on that “box”. But, it’s well documented that everyone works better when we work with people who are different to us. Diverse teams, groups and organisations are more creative, more innovative, and realise better outcomes. Diverse and inclusive workplaces attract and retain better staff, which is well needed when we are facing an engineering skills shortage."

Our industry and the Institute's membership have been calling out for change. Over the last year, IPWEA NSW & ACT has:

• Introduced a diversity award at the annual Engineering Excellence Awards
• A dedicated stream of presentations to Women in Public Works at the State Conference
• Developed gender bias training and delivered to over 1000 participants across the NSW
• Held an inaugural IWD luncheon with the Minister of Transport, The Hon. Jo Haylen.

Sunday is all about celebrating female engineers. The Women in Public Works Panel is working on a webinar series that will showcase role models in our industry and sharing some insights from other women on how to grow a career in the public sector. Keep an eye out for those events and others coming out next financial year.

 

Dr Megan Finnie, Dr Nassim Ghosni and Grant Baker partake in a Women in Public Works panel session at the 2024 State Conference

 

Dr Nassim Ghosni conducts a Gender Bias workshop, the Institute received funding by the NSW Government to conduct Gender Bias Training to NSW local government construction staff.

 

The Hon. Jo Haylen, speaking at the International Women's Day Luncheon hosted by IPWEA NSW & ACT

 

Ben Stewart receives the Diversity and Inclusion Award on behalf of Shellharbour City Council's Yirran Muru - Aboriginal Interpretive Play Space