The young women and mums excelling in the engineering industry

With the ending of the Federal Government’s Women in STEM Ambassador Program 1, with the Government considering the Pathway to Diversity in STEM review2, and experts predicting that 90 per cent of jobs will require STEM skills by next year3.  

 

Between 2018 and 2022, the number of women working in STEM-qualified industries in Australia increased by 38 per cent while women enrolling in STEM courses increased by 18 per cent between 2018 and 20214. Yet only 27 per cent of women are represented in Australian STEM industries5. 

Global engineering, project delivery, and professional services firm Hatch provides its expertise across major metals, energy and infrastructure projects. The company actively promotes female inclusion in its own organisation and beyond. Its sponsorship agreement with the Adelaide University Motorsport Team (AUMT) included an incentive to boost female engagement to 30 per cent by September 2024. AUMT has achieved this target by significantly improving its team culture and recruitment processes, leading to a 100 per cent female retention rate and a rate of 44 per cent female recruitment rate. 

 

Hatch itself has 1000 local specialist staff across seven offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Wollongong and Newcastle. Globally, the company has more than 10,000 staff in 65 offices. 

Its workforce comprises a healthy proportion of women, including Delmay, Ruth, Bianca and Sara below, who have progressed from graduate roles to the middle and upper ranks of the company.  

 

Jan Kwak, Hatch Managing Director of Australia and Asia, says: “Our female workforce has grown year on year so that now we have more skilled women in leadership roles, who younger staff look to for guidance. Having that balanced workforce means we have diversity in the way we approach our work and find solutions. The more women we see in our industry, the more others are encouraged to explore the opportunities available to them and the more we learn about how to support women as their career and personal lives progress.” 

Bianca Arnold, Engagement Manager for the Commissioning Operational Readiness Ramp Up Excellence Team 

In 14 years, Bianca has explored multiple facets of the engineering industry. Starting her career in operations with Rio Tinto, she quickly moved into the consulting side of Rio Tinto, Wood, Aurecon and then Hatch, where she engages project clients and stakeholders.  

Her career highlights include commissioning execution management for PT Freeport Indonesia’s Manyar Refinery with Hatch; asset management, planning and end of asset life strategy development for Queensland Alumina Ltd with Aurecon; and operational readiness and process safety improvement of upstream facilities for Shell operated Queensland Gas Company with Wood. At Rio Tinto, Wood and Aurecon, Bianca worked across the mineral processing, oil & gas, infrastructure and defence industries, leading her to Hatch one year ago.  

Bianca says: “My managers at Hatch have given me the opportunity to work on larger engagements and management positions, which weren’t available in my previous roles. That’s been a huge benefit in my career development.  

“I’m also mum to a three-year-old and I don’t think I would be able to do this job without the flexibility and support I’ve had. It’s hard to balance but it’s comforting to know the arrangement isn’t one-sided. I can spend time at home as well as have these more challenging opportunities at work. It’s been interesting, challenging and exciting all at once.” 

Throughout this time, Bianca also became a chartered chemical engineer, a status requiring continuous professional development (CPD), regular industry audits and reporting. She counts this among her triumphs. 

She says: “Having sustained that has been huge for me. There are a lot of criteria to meet and maintain, including various CPD activities in addition to your regular workload.  

“This industry is multi-disciplinary and it has opened me up to so many other industries and roles. You diverge, then converge, depending on what you want. Believe in your abilities. Know you’ve got your team’s support. And if you don’t, find that support.” 

Delmay Lavigilante, Civil Engineer, Aviation Delmay counts herself lucky to have started her civil engineering career at Hatch with a female manager. Aside from having guidance from a female manager who had already forged her path in a traditionally male industry, she had the pressing question of what to wear on work sites. It was these nuances that drove home the importance of having a balanced workforce. 

Delmay says: “Dressing up is a way of expressing yourself. I remember when I first started, one of my key questions was what do you wear when you go to the office and what do you wear on works sites. Even in those small ways, it was great to have my manager as a role model at the very start. In a broader sense, she was looking out for me and was a source of inspiration. As a graduate, you’re trying to learn as much as you can.” 

Delmay started at Hatch as an intern in 2018 and received a graduate offer upon finishing university. She has moved from the highways and bridges team to aviation, where she found a balance of technical office work and onsite engagement. She is an Independent Reviewer on the Metro Tunnel Project, where she conducts surveillance inspections and reports, and handles the quality assurance of civil and structural construction works. Delmay is also a Project Manager on the Melbourne Airport Runway 16-34 Overlay, where she has been engaged from the schematic phase of the project through to design, procurement, construction and defect liability. Right now, she is managing the post-construction works of the main runway overlay works.  

Her advice to other young women entering the industry is to believe in their capabilities. She says: “If you’ve been given a task, it means you have what it takes to do it. So don’t doubt yourself. I had mentors who were there for me when I needed them and they pushed me to do things that I honestly didn’t think I was able to do. I ended up being able to do them.” 

Sara Hope, Principal Civil Designer  

Sara was drawn to the design side of engineering even as a child. Her grandfather was a draftsperson in residential housing and growing up around his work sparked her interest. 

Having completed an apprenticeship in the civil engineering space 19 years ago, Sara has witnessed the changes in gender equality and experienced the challenges of gender imbalance.  

Sara says: “In my early career I was one of two women in our office of 30 people. Thankfully there is more balance within the industry, 20 years down the track. I very much believe ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’. Having female leaders in the business is essential – visibility and representation matter. Seeing potential career paths and having others you can reach out to for advice or support is so beneficial, especially when starting in your career and navigating all the challenges that can come along with that.” 

“My early career was focused on design and documentation – working across energy, rail and road infrastructures projects. In later years, I’ve moved into a design management role. Joining Hatch three years ago has allowed me to work on high profile projects with larger teams. I love being able to help solve clients’ problems, but supporting the next generation is equally as rewarding.” 

 

Among Sara’s career highlights is her role as Digital Lead on the Morley-Ellenbrook Railway Line in Western Australia, where 21km of new rail line is being constructed with five stations and four bus interchanges along the alignment. Sara oversaw the implementation of the digital engineering strategy to ensure compliance with client and approval requirements. In the construction phase of the project, Sara moved into a Design Manager role to oversee the design team and liaise with client and site engineers. 

 

Sara was also the Lead Civil Designer for the permanent way, stabling and maintenance facility on the 23km Sydney Metro-Western Sydney Airport line in NSW. Her role included designing access roads, coordination with other disciplines and client requirements, overseeing other civil designers and coordination with the drafting team for design documentation. 

 

Also in a Lead Civil Designer role, Sara worked on the Yangibana Project for Hastings Technology Metals in Western Australia, a new rare earth processing plant. This role included designing earthworks, access roads and stormwater for the process plant, tailings storage facility and heavy vehicle areas, and overseeing the design and reviews of a 24km access road. 

 

Taylor Johnstone, Engineer, Project Management and Construction Group 

Taylor Johnstone never planned a career in engineering. As her days at high school ended, she began researching degrees in a ‘mild panic’, searching for one that leant into her strengths in maths and physics and would be transferable if she found the course unsuited.  

 

Now, having joined Hatch as a graduate and having worked across three states on goldmining and lithium processing projects, Taylor can confidently say she has no regrets. Right now, she is halfway through a two-year secondment in Perth, where she is working as an Engineer on the Project Management and Construction team to duplicate a lithium processing facility. Her role is vast and has included tracking budgets and project progress and driving packages of work such as tenders or design award contracts through to completion.  

 

Taylor says: “If you do project management and package engineering you can branch out. If someone needs to do a bit of drafting, you can do that. If someone needs a design, you step in and assist. That’s what I’ve really enjoyed about Project Management and Construction: the ability to try different things. 

 

“In my third year at Hatch I expressed a desire to get experience on site. It sat in the background for a while, then he called me and asked ‘how would you like to move to Western Australia for two years’.  A lot of projects I worked on at the start of my career were feasibility and preliminary designs. You’re delivering something that’s ready to construct. That’s why I started pushing to get experience in the tail end of the development cycle. I need do some commissioning work and then I’ll have come full circle.” 

 

Having worked across Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, Taylor says the consistency of Hatch’s culture stood out. The approachability of her colleagues and senior staff and their willingness to mentor and support her has been immeasurable.   

 

“As a relatively outgoing person, the ability to approach people at more senior levels and seek mentoring has been something I’ve really appreciated. And that’s been true across the board in all the offices I’ve worked in. That is a culture driven trait. When I interviewed as a graduate at Hatch, they brought in another graduate who had already started working there so that I could ask them questions about their journey there. I really appreciated that and I’m now playing that role too.” 

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1 With thanks, we farewell the Women in STEM Ambassador | Department of Industry Science and Resources 
2 Review recommends more ambitious and strategic action to increase diversity in STEM | Department of Industry Science and Resources 
3 Let's Talk: Women in STEM | Study Australia 
4 With thanks, we farewell the Women in STEM Ambassador | Department of Industry Science and Resources 
5 Let's Talk: Women in STEM | Study Australia