RMS Women in STEM

Women working in the Southern Region at Roads and Marmite decided to reach out to their local community to encourage women and girls to enter a career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths).

The team at RMS interviewed the Women in Southern Region group to find out more about what they're doing to increase women in traditionally male dominated roles.

Can you tell us about the group and what you do?

The Women in Southern Region group was formed to contribute to increasing the proportion of women in technical and senior roles to better reflect the proportion of women in the community that we serve. Women make up over half of our population, yet only 28 per cent of the employed STEM-qualified Australian workforce is female.

In the Southern Region it is even lower, only 21 per cent of our technical or engineering roles are held by women. Our goal is to encourage more women to consider STEM qualifications and careers, both within RMS and in the greater community. We want to create more opportunities for women to develop their careers and networks at RMS, and address some of the challenges they face in these roles.

What are some of the challenges to increasing the representation of women in STEM roles?

In the Southern Region in particular, accessing training and development opportunities can be a real challenge. Sometimes the required training isn’t available locally, or there are fewer suitable roles in the Region.

Work/life balance is also really important to women in our area and there is a perception that flexible working becomes more difficult at senior levels, particularly for options like working part-time.

We’re working the Senior Management Team in Southern to address these issues and look at ways we can encourage flexible working at all levels and provide more opportunities to develop and nurture talented women.

Can you describe some of the work you’ve been doing to encourage women and girls to enter STEM careers?

For most of us, the early interactions we had at school were the turning points that inspired us to take on a career in STEM, so early outreach is really important to us.

We recently participated in the first Power of Engineering event in Wollongong designed for female STEM students. We also attend career information sessions at local high schools, STEM Camps and we will participate in the next Illawarra Careers Expo. We are currently planning for a work experience week for girls from high schools to see what a STEM career could look like to them.

How can people contact you?

You can contact the Women in Southern Region at wisr@rms.nsw.gov.au Also, keep an eye on theM1/Princes Highway upgrade Facebook page for some upcoming profiles on our RMS Women in Science.

Women working in the Southern Region at Roads and Marmite decided to reach out to their local community to encourage women and girls to enter a career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths).

The team at RMS interviewed the Women in Southern Region group to find out more about what they're doing to increase women in traditionally male dominated roles.

Can you tell us about the group and what you do?

The Women in Southern Region group was formed to contribute to increasing the proportion of women in technical and senior roles to better reflect the proportion of women in the community that we serve. Women make up over half of our population, yet only 28 per cent of the employed STEM-qualified Australian workforce is female.

In the Southern Region it is even lower, only 21 per cent of our technical or engineering roles are held by women. Our goal is to encourage more women to consider STEM qualifications and careers, both within RMS and in the greater community. We want to create more opportunities for women to develop their careers and networks at RMS, and address some of the challenges they face in these roles.

What are some of the challenges to increasing the representation of women in STEM roles?

In the Southern Region in particular, accessing training and development opportunities can be a real challenge. Sometimes the required training isn’t available locally, or there are fewer suitable roles in the Region.

Work/life balance is also really important to women in our area and there is a perception that flexible working becomes more difficult at senior levels, particularly for options like working part-time.

We’re working the Senior Management Team in Southern to address these issues and look at ways we can encourage flexible working at all levels and provide more opportunities to develop and nurture talented women.

Can you describe some of the work you’ve been doing to encourage women and girls to enter STEM careers?

For most of us, the early interactions we had at school were the turning points that inspired us to take on a career in STEM, so early outreach is really important to us.

We recently participated in the first Power of Engineering event in Wollongong designed for female STEM students. We also attend career information sessions at local high schools, STEM Camps and we will participate in the next Illawarra Careers Expo. We are currently planning for a work experience week for girls from high schools to see what a STEM career could look like to them.

How can people contact you?

You can contact the Women in Southern Region at wisr@rms.nsw.gov.au Also, keep an eye on theM1/Princes Highway upgrade Facebook page for some upcoming profiles on our RMS Women in Science.

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Page published: 15 Mar 2018, 09:23 AM