Driving Gender Equity at Transport

Aparna Koirala is the Customer Liaison Specialist in Accounts Payable, Transport Shared Services (TSS). She is also a strong promoter of disability awareness at Transport.

We spoke to Aparna to get to know her a little better.

What do you do at Transport?

I assist with processing Accounts Payable exceptions and invoices. I also help with enquiries from business units and customers across the Transport cluster.
On top of this I promote disability awareness in Transport and I’m also involved with the Disability Internal Transport Advisory Committee.

What’s your proudest moments?

My two proudest moments are graduating with a Bachelor of Communication (Media Arts) from Western Sydney University and receiving a promotion at Transport.
As a deaf woman, I am proud of these achievements because they prove I am equally as capable of succeeding as anyone else.

What advice do you have for other women who are looking to progress their careers in Transport?

Believe in yourself, know that you have great skills and are capable. Do not give up! Keep a positive attitude!

How do you ensure a good work /life balance?

I like to watch romance, comedy and drama movies and I especially like Disney movies. I like to travel the world and socialise with my friends and family. I also attend a lot of deaf community and fund raising events including Deaflympics and Deaf Festival.

Tell us something that people may not know about you?

I’m from Nepal. I’ve competed as Miss Deaf Australia in the Miss Deaf World beauty pageant in Prague.

Jo Withford is a Project Engineer in Regional and Outer Metropolitan. She also takes an active role in promoting women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) opportunities at schools and universities.

We spoke to Jo to get to know her a little better.

What do you do at Transport?

I manage the road maintenance council contracts with the City of Newcastle and Maitland City Council, as well as managing the development and construction of various safety and infrastructure services projects. I am also very active in encouraging women in STEM where I promote Transport and engineering by speaking at various primary schools, high schools and universities. I am Digital Leader of Transport’s WiSE Network, as well as being on Engineers Australia’s sub-education committee. I also represent Transport as an Ambassador for Sydney Build 2020.

What are your proudest moments?

Being awarded Fellow status with Engineers Australia in 2018 was a proud moment as it was nice to be recognised by my fellow engineers for contributing positively to the field of engineering. I was also proud to be awarded Transport’s Regional Maintenance Female Employee of the Year for 2019. Finally, this week I was selected as a STEM ambassador for Science and Technology Australia !

On a personal note, I am proud of the fact that with the help of my husband, I have been able to raise three happy and successful daughters while still maintaining a successful and fulfilling engineering career. And that I have been working for Transport for 20 years.

What advice do you have for other women who are looking to progress their careers in Transport?

It is important for us to always be true to ourselves, do what feels right, always be authentic and have confidence in our own ability. Have your ‘non–negotiables’, be brave and step out of your comfort zone at times because when you do, numerous opportunities may present themselves.

How do you ensure a good work/life balance?

Achieving a good work/life balance is one of my priorities in life. Having three active daughters and a husband that works away from home for half of every week means that I have to be extremely organised, efficient and at the top of my game. I achieve a good work/life balance by working at Transport on a part time basis (2 days in the office and two days at home). I try to do 20 minutes of exercise every day, eat really well and get lots of sleep. Having flexible working conditions is wonderful and allows me to work around family commitments, while still fulfilling my role with Transport.

Tell us something that people may not know about you?

When I was 15 years old I was a Rotary Exchange Student for 12 months in Canada. At the time, I was the youngest Australian to go on a 12 month exchange and it really changed my life. It was in Canada where I was introduced to engineering. The lady that I babysat for was an electrical engineer and I can remember being really interested and intrigued about her job.

Join our discussion on practical actions we can take to drive gender equality in Transport.

Find out what we’re doing to break down barriers to gender equality.

Gail Le Bransky has been recognised with an Australian Public Service Medal on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to Transport.

This year's International Women's Day theme was Balance for Better. To celebrate the day Transport for NSW's Infrastructure and Place division interviewed some of their people to find out more about what gender balance means to them in the workplace.

Watch the video to find out more.

What does this year’s theme, ‘Balance for Better’ mean to you?

The Customer Central team recently facilitated a workshop focused on the importance of gender equity. Find out more about the highlights from the event.

Accountable for more than 1,000 train crew who provide services to over one million customers per day, Samantha Abeydeera from Sydney Trains knows what it takes to be a good people leader. Find out more about Samantha from Sydney Trains.

RMS recently hosted a fantastic event which aimed to arm our female employees with insights, strategies and skills to increase self-awareness, confidence and self-esteem for inclusion and peak performance.

Watch the video to see the highlights.