With the mining boom now over, there is a very obvious potential economic force in Australia which, if developed, can create new jobs, drive innovation and economic growth and help with our budget deficit. Ensuring greater workforce participation of Australian women, particularly in science, engineering and technology is essential for developing new industries and for the knowledge economy.
According to the Grattan Institute, increasing women’s workforce participation is one of the top three economic reform priorities for Australia. An increase of just 6%, to the same levels as Canada, which has a similar resource-based economy, would add $25 billion, or approximately 1% to Australia’s Gross Domestic Product.
The World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2014, ranked Australia at 24, down from 15 in 2006, because other countries have improved their gender gap at a faster rate. This rank takes into account various factors including educational attainment, health outcomes and political empowerment. Australia was first in female educational attainment out of 136 participating countries but ranked 51 in labour force participation and 63 in wage equality for similar work.
In the post-mining boom era, where Australia is looking towards innovation to develop new industries and create jobs, there is a serious deficit in the participation of women in science, engineering and technology. These are the worst-performing sectors for female participation by any measure.
Listed companies in these sectors have the lowest proportion of women on their boards, and most of the women that are appointed do not have a science or engineering background.
There are less than five Australian-owned companies in these sectors listed as Employers of Choice by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency in 2014. This indicates the majority had not implemented systematic processes to ensure gender equity.
Australia is falling behind in the proportion of girls studying science and mathematics, which are the enabling subjects for tertiary studies in engineering. In engineering, this proportion remains below 20%, although pockets of higher percentages exist in some faculties.
On graduation, more than half of female graduates in engineering do not enter the workforce.
Of the rest, another 50% leave within the first 10 years, especially when they start a family.
The losses continue so that there are fewer than 1% of Australian-born women engineers remaining in the cohort aged over 50. Consequently, the pipeline of women engineers progressing to leadership positions is full of very large holes.
By comparison, our neighbours in Asia and Africa are powering along, attracting girls to science and engineering as careers of choice, providing high levels of respect and satisfaction. In Malaysia, for example, 20% of registered engineers are women and the proportion studying engineering is around 50%, supported by government policies that recognise the importance of women’s contribution to innovation and economic development.
Women around the world are studying engineering and are active in the profession in increasing numbers.
It’s a myth that engineering is a male-dominated profession or that women cannot do mathematics. Women excel at these subjects, and I know many who derive enormous enjoyment from the intellectual challenges and opportunities that engineering provides. However, until the proportion of women engineers increases to around 25%, the vicious cycle of losses will continue as women vote with their feet rather than remain in workplaces where they are invisible to decision makers who sometimes fail to provide them with even basic amenities.
Our leaders have already demonstrated what’s possible with engineering organisations successfully transforming their culture in the past decade to ensure safe workplaces. Companies have shifted from a “she’ll be right” attitude to one where safety is a paramount, non-negotiable concern, recognised as an important goal by everyone. Australia’s safety performance is world class. Changes are also occurring in the management of the environment and attention to sustainability.
Similarly, there is a need for the leaders of the engineering profession to change the workplace to be more diverse and inclusive. As with safety, this transformation requires a strategic approach that is led from the top. Our leaders need to ensure workplaces provide equal opportunity and value the diverse thinking of people from different backgrounds, ages, gender and abilities. Inclusive cultures engender respect for all individuals and the contributions they make. Importantly, these differences will drive innovation, improved financial performance, better governance and ultimately better economic outcomes for Australia.
Dr Marlene Kanga AM is former national president of Engineers Australia. She is currently a non-executive director of Sydney Water Corporation, Australia’s largest water utility, as well as acting chair of Innovation Australia, the independent statutory body which provides oversight for government programs to facilitate innovation and the development of new technologies and industries in Australia. She is also chair of the R&D Incentives Committee, the largest government support program for industry-based research and development in Australia.
