Celebrating Women in Industry

Exceptional females working in mining, road transport, manufacturing, engineering, logistics, bulk handling, waste management and rail and infrastructure were honoured on Thursday 7 April, at the 2021 Women in Industry Awards, in Melbourne.

The awards sought to recognise women achieving great success in their chosen industry, many of which are male-dominated industries.

Presented by Prime Creative Media, the 2021 Women in Industry Awards saw eleven awards presented throughout the night, with key figures in infrastructure, engineering and transport being celebrated.

Among the winners was Engineers Australia CEO Dr Bronwyn Evans, who was presented with the top honour of the night, the Woman of the Year award.

Sponsored by ifm, the Woman of the Year award winner was selected from finalists in all categories.

Dr Evans has been acknowledged as a true pioneer in the industry, being the first woman to graduate from Electrical Engineering at Wollongong University. She is also the first female CEO at Engineers Australia.

Last year Dr Evans was also appointed as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for her service to engineering.

Dr Evans was also presented with the Excellence in Engineering award. She said that while celebratory nights were significant, there was still more work to be done across the industrial sector.

“Nights like tonight are important so we can celebrate our successes. However, we still need to have difficult conversations about education, bias, assumptions and missed opportunities for women in industry,” she said.

“We know we will have succeeded when women are represented 50 per cent top to bottom. I urge all of us here tonight to use our profiles and our influence to be role models and to be champions for the amazing women who are joining our industries and professions.”

The Excellence in Engineering award was sponsored by BAE Systems Australia, one of the largest employers of engineers nationally.

Nominees for the Excellence in Engineering award included:

Amelinda Ilardi, Project Manager, ANCA;
Ashleigh Fulcher, Mechanical Engineer, Viva Energy Australia;
Narelle Dobson, Director Special Projects, Department of Transport and Main Roads, QLD; and
Rachel Barrett, Senior Verification and Validation Engineer, Bosch Australia.

A transport trailblazer

Catherine Baxter – Chief Operating Officer, Metro Trains Melbourne was also among the winners, being presented with the Excellence in Transport award.

Ms Baxter has over 30 years of experience in rail, having previously held executive roles in large national ASX listed businesses including Aurizon, UGL, and Boral.

Ms Baxter is also a member Australian Institute of Company Directors and Chartered Institute Transport and Logistics.

Under Ms Baxter’s stewardship, the Metro network has seen female employment within the Network Operations area increase by 65 per cent (51 women to 84), Authorised Officers by 40 per cent (from 89 to 125) and in train driving women increased by a further 22 per cent (317 to 387).

As Ms Baxter has previously told National Women in Transport, the sector has come a long way.

“When I joined rail there were no women in senior management. The most senior woman I knew was one level above me when I joined. There was no one to look up to. Now there are lots of women in various levels of rail and transport,” she said.

Fellow nominees for the Excellence in Transport included:

Heather Jones, Director, Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls;
Kirstyn Glass, Rail Operations Consultant, Trapeze Group Asia Pacific;
Merry Manton, Board Member, Transport Women Australia Limited; and
Penny Ford, Executive Director (Transport Planning Services), Department of Transport and Main Roads, QLD.

The full list of winners from the night:

Social Leader of the Year – Jo Withford Senior Project Engineer, Transport for NSW
Mentor of the Year – Larissa Rose Director Consultant, GG Enviro
Industry Advocacy Award – Megan McCracken Chair, NAWO
Excellence in Engineering – Bronwyn Evans, CEO, Engineers Australia
Excellence in Manufacturing – Shay Chalmers, Director, Strategic Engineering Australia Pty Ltd
Safety Advocacy Award – Stephanie O’Dwyer, Manager Health, Wellbeing and Innovation, BlueScope Steel
Excellence in Mining – Christine Morris, Director Strategy & Performance, Komatsu Mining
Excellence in Transport – Catherine Baxter, Chief Operating Officer, Metro Trains
Business Development Success – Lacey Webb, Founder & Director, Resource Hub
Rising Star of the Year – Monique Yap Graduate Engineer, Weir Minerals
Woman of the Year – Bronwyn Evans CEO, Engineers Australia