Driving Gender Equity at Transport

1. Tell us what you do at Transport

I’m the Director Network Integration and manage a program that integrates city shaping road infrastructure into the broader transport network through strong governance, planning, stakeholder engagement and project delivery to meet planning conditions on major projects.

2. What's your proudest moment?

Becoming a Chartered Engineer and being selected for the Roads Australia Fellowship are both proud moments. Leading successful teams to deliver projects which improve infrastructure and places for the community makes me extremely proud too.

3. What advice do you have for other women thinking about a career in Engineering?

A career in Engineering can take you all over the world on a range of projects. As a Civil Engineer, I have worked on Bus Priority projects in London, Cycling projects in Brisbane and Network improvement projects in Sydney. Engineering is an exciting profession and provides you with a whole world of opportunities.

4. How can we transform the future of women in engineering?

I really believe in the value of mentoring others and having good mentors yourself. I’ve been fortunate in having some incredible engineering mentors in my career, starting with my first mentor in the then RTA nearly 20 years ago! Mentoring women in engineering is a really important step towards transforming the future.

5. Tell us something that people may not know about you?

I have two daughters and one of my girls wants to be an Engineer like Mum!

1. Tell us what you do at Transport

At Sydney Trains I am a Planning and Programming Engineer in the Asset Management Division. I work in the Asset Scheduling and Delivery Coordination Business unit with my main role being liaising with various internal and external stakeholders to assist in the planning for delivery of projects in the rail corridor.

2. What's your proudest moment?

I was nominated for the Transport Awards in 2019 and was a finalist for the Bright Spark category. The nomination was for the Access Locator iPhone app that I developed.

3. What advice do you have for other women thinking about a career in Engineering?

Engineering, although male-dominated, is a field that is constantly evolving, offering work that challenges you and provides plenty of opportunities for knowledge growth and career progression. It is a great choice of industry especially nowadays with workplaces, including Sydney Trains, offering flexible work practices so work-life balance is easier to achieve.

4. How can we transform the future of women in engineering?

I believe one great way to transform the future of women in engineering is have an even greater number of women in the field! One way this can happen is through sparking the curiosity early on in girls (and boys). This can be through creating opportunities in school to be exposed to engineering ideas and have access to STEM subjects.

5. Tell us something that people may not know about you?

I’ve travelled across Russia, Mongolia to China on the Trans-Siberian railway network and it was a great experience!

1. Tell us what you do at Transport

I am currently on secondment, acting as the Associate Director Assurance on Sydney Metro. My substantive role is a Systems Engineering Manager on the Digital Systems Program.

2. What's your proudest moment?

Other than having my three wonderfully children, giving the joint keynote presentation at the Australian Systems Engineering Workshop in 2019.

3. What advice do you have for other women thinking about a career in Engineering?

Are you sure? Raising two girls, I often think about this question. I believe if you have a passion in problem solving you should definitely pursue a career in Engineering. If you are passionate about what you do, you will be able to work through obstacles to have a rewarding career in engineering.

Despite facing difficulties early in my career, I can see significant changes occurring in most organisations to promote and enable women to have careers in Engineering. Women no longer have to choose between a career and raising a family. I see Transport for NSW leading the way to support women engineers make meaningful contributions to projects ensuring they reflect the needs of the diverse community we serve.

4. How can we transform the future of women in engineering?

Stop fixing women (based on a book of the same title by Catherine Fox) and give women a seat at the table.

Sometimes initiatives aim on fixing women to be the perfect employee, which tends to be based on men, rather than resolving the structural barriers women face in the workplace.

Research has shown that women are not very good at promoting themselves. By providing women with equal opportunities to roles or inviting women engineers to contribute to projects will ensure we meet the diverse needs of our communities.

5. Tell us something that people may not know about you?

Not sure if there is anything… I share a lot! I love cake and my favourite is Pavlova!

1. Tell us what you do at Transport

I work as a system and safety assurance manager with the Regional Rail Project.

2. What's your proudest moment?

I feel proud whenever I read or hear something positive about a project I have worked on - even if I was only a minor part of the project, and the project itself was finished years ago.

3. What advice do you have for other women thinking about a career in Engineering?

Read and watch stories about engineers, especially women engineers. I remember being inspired by Lillian Moller Gilbreth when watching “Cheaper by the Dozen” (the 1940’s version!) as a child. There are many more options now, including recent movies such as ‘Hidden Figures’, and even Doctor Who.

4. How can we transform the future of women in engineering?

We need to recognise that it is an adaptive challenge, so will require all of the ‘five ways of leading’ – and that leadership needs to come from all of us.

5. Tell us something that people may not know about you?

I had the opportunity to work as an engineer overseas, in Japan, for a few years when I was a fairly recent graduate. I learned a lot, and I would recommend to anyone early in their career – deliberately seek out experiences slightly outside your comfort zone.

1. Tell us what you do at Transport

During my time at Transport on the Scholar Program, I have been placed in the Track Engineering team within the Network Maintenance Division of Sydney Trains. In this team I manage track data, send out weekly track defect reports and I have also been involved in the planning of track defect removal jobs over the weekend. I have learnt a great deal about Track Engineering and the many processes involved behind the scenes which are essential to keep our trains running smoothly.

2. What's your proudest moment?

My proudest moment was successfully completing a weekend track defect removal job. It was great being on site to supervise the work and it was satisfying to see the product of the many hours spent planning and preparing for it.

3. What advice do you have for other women thinking about a career in Engineering?

I would definitely encourage any women thinking about a career in Engineering to go for it. Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions and don’t be afraid to step out of you comfort zone because you will be surprised as to how much you can learn and grow through challenging experiences. It is a very rewarding career path and there are numerous opportunities as well as a lot of support available for women in Engineering that can assist with excelling in this profession.

4. How can we transform the future of women in engineering?

We can transform the future of women in engineering by encouraging and supporting each other to create a respectful and fair work environment.

5. Tell us something that people may not know about you?

Something that people may not know about me is that I really enjoy resistance training because I find it so empowering. I love spending my free time working out and training each muscle at the gym. My favourite exercise is deadlifting and my current goal is to be able to lift 120 kgs.

1. Tell us what you do at Transport

I am a graduate in the 2020 Graduate Program and I am currently in my first rotation in Sydney Trains ESI RSMD. My background is Mechatronic Engineering and I graduated last year with a double degree in Mechatronics and Biomedical Engineering. So far in my placement I have gained a lot of onsite/depot learning experiences that complement the office work I do well. The projects I am working on at the moment have really utilised my university studies and I enjoy that there is a good learning curve in the placement.

A few projects I am involved in include upgrades and modifications to the OSCar train fleet (smoke detectors, HVAC filters) and Xplorer/Endeavour trains. I am also involved with the Brakes unit in RSMD and have been actively participating in their test runs as part of their brakes modification projects.

2. What's your proudest moment?

My proudest moment at work would have to being involved in system modification projects to change components on the fleets for improvement. Currently I’m working on a project with the Train Control and Communications team that will have mechanical design and electrical wiring components that I will need to create and change. I am going to be involved with the trial and test plan phase and documentation for the same project which will be exciting to see and roll out soon.

I am also working with the Mechanised Track Patrol Vehicles to do a hinge skirt rollout for easier maintenance access. What is cool about this project is that the MTPV are not passenger fleets which is exciting as it isn’t something you can see every day on the platform.

3. What advice do you have for other women thinking about a career in Engineering?

If you are still in high school I think it is the perfect time to add a couple of hobbies to work on at home after school, especially if you are interested in STEM. If you really want to learn more about electrical circuits for example, it will be a great time to ask your parents or watch youtube videos on basic electrical circuits and probably Arduino. If you are into programming more, there are a lot of tutorials online that are free to learn more about Python for example and how to compile and write basic programs.

For me personally in high school I liked science and mathematics more than English so I had an idea that it was something I would pursue seriously at university. I remember being involved in Robogals when I was in high school so I always had it in my mind that it would be the type of engineering I wanted to pursue at university.

If you are currently at university doing a different degree and always thought about switching to engineering, I would say it is better to switch or try out a few subjects before you graduate in another degree you are not too certain about. Definitely try to talk to friends, family, other friends of friends that you know about engineering if you want to build a future career in a particular stream that seems interesting to you to see if it will be a good fit for yourself. I think personal interest is more important for your career than how much money you will make with a particular degree or if you are studying because of other people’s suggestions.

4. How can we transform the future of women in engineering?

Starting with STEM at a younger age will help encourage more women and girls to make informed decisions about subjects they like studying in high school and university. Exposure to maths and sciences in high school through site visits, coding classes, making basic circuits and university open days would help encourage women to see what engineering is about and learn what engineers do. I think there is an unsaid assumption that girls and women shy away from STEM subjects as some people or maybe themselves may say that maths and sciences are hard to learn and study and they might lack confidence to try out new things.

The workplace environment will have a big influence on everyone’s careers and it is good to see that Transport is flexible and advocates for employees from diverse backgrounds. In engineering through university and in the workplace it will not be uncommon to have a high gender imbalance due to the slow but steady changes encouraging women to study engineering. As it changes at the moment, I think that representing women as role models through buddy programs and communities will help to create a strong basis to facilitate their career as they will have someone to relate to. I think this is something everyone should consider if a team is quite male dominate

5. Tell us something that people may not know about you?

I like matcha flavoured food/drinks (especially if it’s strong) and I have a small but growing Gudetama collection. I also speak English, Cantonese, some Mandarin and Korean.

1. Tell us what you do at Transport

My role is Associate Director, Corridor Development in the Transport Planning Branch. Since we started the Fast Rail Program in August 2017, I’ve been leading the technical stream across the program for different business cases

2. What's your proudest moment?

My proudest work related moment was when I received Transport Award 2016 – Champion of Diversity & Inclusion (attached).

My proudest professional moment was in 2008. After 25 years of practising engineering across Europe, NZ and AUS, I was accepted as a Fellow in Engineers AUS as 8th female Fellow in NSW.

3. What advice do you have for other women thinking about a career in Engineering?

We should recognise that there is huge pride in being a professional in a vocational occupation. Engineering is a very versatile occupation with a highly transferable set of skills. We can work in any country around the world, in any management or leadership position or in any borderline area of expertise (teaching, IT, banking, finance, insurance, research, science streams, etc.). The Engineering degree gives us a “toolbox of knowledge and methodologies” which is a solid foundation not for our career only, but for whole life.

4. How can we transform the future of women in engineering?

In 2016, Engineers AUS/National Committee WIE established strategic objectives and it is fully applicable to any working environment:

· Attract women to the field of engineering

· Support and Retain women working within the industry

· Celebrate the achievements women in engineering

Also, the following themes are common with other professional women in male dominated industries:

1) Increased participation of women in decision making – remove unconscious bias from selection processes

2) Flexible and family supporting work environment – develop organisational mechanisms to promote career/life balance

3) Implement a ‘Sponsor’ role in addition to the Mentor role – Sponsoring provides the chance to act in higher and different roles. Mentoring is strategic help while Sponsoring is tactical

5. Tell us something that people may not know about you?

I love learning about different cultures, languages and literature, music and visual art. I’m a very passionate reader and can’t imagine my life without books (on average one per week). And of course there is that deep hidden desire to become an author and write a book one day!

1. Tell us what you do at Transport

I am a Mechanical Engineering Cadet with the Entry Level Talent Programs and am currently based in the Sydney Trains Fleet Maintenance Division at Mortdale Maintenance Centre.

I am soaking up everything I can to learn from the depot engineers whilst acquiring hands on experience with the Tangara Fleet.

2. What's your proudest moment?

One thing that I enjoy and am proud of is my ability to juggle my University studies while working at Transport NSW as a cadet, performing both roles to the best of my ability.

At University my proudest moment would be when I designed a mechanical leg brace prototype to enable an individual with Cerebral Palsy to ride an exercise bike unassisted for the first time.

3. What advice do you have for other women thinking about a career in Engineering?

My biggest piece of advice would be to look past the stereotypical definition of Engineering as being a boys club full of maths and physics. As to thrive and grow in engineering disciplines it is more valuable to have a curious nature and motivation to solve problems.

I also encourage any women starting their studies in Engineering to fully immerse themselves in the engineering community, to believe that they will be successful and to persevere. The women I have met through Engineering are some of the most supportive, encouraging and driven individuals I have encountered.

4. How can we transform the future of women in engineering?

I believe that the future of women in engineering can be transformed by increasing the exposure of both workplaces to female engineers, but also young STEM students to female engineers.

By expanding how often the female engineers are seen, heard and presented to the wider community the more normal, expected and respected they will become, rather than surprising additions, and in turn enable women to be completely comfortable and themselves in the workplace.

5. Tell us something that people may not know about you?

In high school was selected in the Under 17s Australian Softball Squad and this may not be a secret, I am extremely competitive – but that’s not a bad trait to have as a female in Engineering.

1. Tell us what you do at Transport

I am currently in the Entry Level Talent Program placed as a Graduate Environment Officer in the Western Region. This position involves completing environmental impact assessment and environmental management from project inception to construction and maintenance. As a Graduate Environment Officer I have been involved with environmental impact assessment and management in areas such as Moree, Broken Hill and Lithgow to name a few.

2. What's your proudest moment?

I have thoroughly enjoyed being provided with the opportunity to meet and network with other inspiring women in STEM. I have worked closely with my colleague Acting Environment Officer, Sue Engeler, on a few environmental impact assessments such as a minor works review of environmental factors. Having the opportunity to engage with various stakeholders and see infrastructure actually being constructed as a result of that has been a really rewarding experience.

3. What advice do you have for other women thinking about a career in Engineering?

Don’t ever feel discouraged by others comments about what you can and cannot achieve as a woman. Don’t be afraid to ask questions because everyone you meet started somewhere. And don’t be afraid to have fun and enjoy what you do.

4. How can we transform the future of women in engineering?

There are still so many archaic ideologies in our society as to what a man and a woman have to do in their lives to be considered to be successful. We, as women in STEM, need to continue to advocate for the education and support of young girls who may not think they have the option for a career in STEM due to the voices they’ve heard throughout their life dictating the path they should take.

We should continue to support the core values of championing for change and not allowing the continuation of gender bias within the work place, particular within streams such as engineering.

5. Tell us something that people may not know about you?

I really enjoy hiking and being outdoors – but not when it’s super cold and wet. When it’s cold and wet I’d rather be curled up on the couch watching a classic Romantic Comedy with my Siberian Husky – Oliver.

1. Tell us what you do at Transport

I am working in projects, for Sydney Metro, as part of the City and South West Project. I am within the tunnel and Station Excavation Team, as a Senior Manager, Construction. This package has been an instrumental part to working towards delivering exceptional and beneficial changes to Sydney transport infrastructure and the community.

2. What's your proudest moment?

The time for recognition made to the volunteering work that I contributed at the Childrens Medical Research Institute, and the great work they do for research in genetic diseases. Had the opportunity to meet the Queen of Sweden, on her visit in Australia.

And of course, completing and graduating with my MBA, having worked fulltime as well as classes at nights. A challenge, but a proud moment on getting there.

3. What advice do you have for other women thinking about a career in Engineering?

There are many programs such as STEM that can introduce you to engineering, if it is at the early stage of their career path, or, if it is something you would like to explore at a later stage in your career, Universities have ongoing webinars to introducing various career choices that engineering can expose you to. Whatever stage you are in you are in your career, reach out and always explore options.

Engineering has many options, facets and avenues, from design, to environmental focus, to onsite construction. Engineering is very rewarding, and it makes you proud that you can contribute to helping make evolving changes to infrastructure which has positive impacts and even life-changing to individuals.

4. How can we transform the future of women in engineering?

Accessibility, education, and opportunity are all pivotal to increasing women in Engineering. Providing more platforms where women can excel, and develop as Engineering Leaders is the right direction.

5. Tell us something that people may not know about you?

I am keen in motorcycle riding, and enjoy all thing fast (the thought of training as a professional race car driver is appealing to me). I am a very profound gardener, and have created a little oasis, in the backyard! (French style influence of course).