International Women’s Day falls on 8 March every year. It is a global day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It also marks a call to action for advancing equity, diversity and inclusion. Across Australia, our changemakers are talking about the importance of embracing our differences as strengths and working together to enrich our lives through an inclusive and respectful culture where everyone has equitable opportunities to succeed and where our voices are heard.
Equity is key to delivering on our purpose to future proof our cities and environment, which we bring to life by considering the social impact of our projects and developing innovative solutions that reflect the diversity of our clients and the communities we serve.
Nationally, on Thursday 9 March, staff attended a special live session on International Women’s Day, hosted by Paul Williams, our Executive Sponsor for Inclusion and Belonging. Paul was joined in conversation by Evie Fox Koob, Senior Economist at Deloitte, and Rhiannon Yetsenga, Manager in Deloitte’s Economic Analysis and Policy team. The session explored key insights on Deloitte’s new report ‘Breaking the Norm – Unleashing Australia’s Economic Potential’ which examines how redefining gender norms could boost Australia’s economy and measures the economic imperative for government, businesses and the philanthropic sector to reconsider gender norms.
In Newcastle, the team hosted a speed networking event with female STEM students from the University of Newcastle.
Emma Dean, Regional Director and National Executive - Planning & Approvals, is passionate about taking time out to reflect and celebrate women in the workforce.
“Thinking about equity in the way we deliver work ensures we can shape infrastructure that is more considered for the communities in which we live. Small changes in our behaviour will increase equity and I encourage everyone to embrace equity every day,” she says.
The focus on equity is important. Although the word is often used interchangeably with equality, the two have different meanings. Honing in on equity means that we can recognise that every person has a different set of circumstances, and that different resources and opportunities may be needed to reach an equal outcome.
Scott Fidler, Managing Director – Earth & Environment, says that barriers he is aware of include, “The multitude of small decisions that are influenced by unconscious bias that cumulatively add up to lesser opportunity for women to demonstrate value and realise their potential.”
In Canberra, Natalia Anderson, Associate Planner, was the MC at The Planning Institute of Australia’s International Women’s Day Breakfast.
She says celebrating achievements by women and highlighting their importance isn’t just about the one day; it's about the legacy of including women in the future of our world.
“As a town planner, I think of our world for future generations, and I can see firsthand when diversity of thought has positively affected a development. When inclusivity is at the heart of developing future spaces, it ensures the space will endure and thrive.”
Also in Canberra, our employees enjoyed hearing from guest speaker Jo Farrell, General Manger of Kane Constructions and Founder of ‘Build Like a Girl’, a not-for-profit dedicated to seeing a 50/50 gender balance in construction.
In Perth, workshops were held to share employee experiences and challenges with all genders encouraged to participate, while Brisbane examined innovation for a gender equal future. The South Australian team focused on creating a culture of diversity in Australia’s transport industry through sponsorship and facilitation of the Roads Australia International Women’s Day Lunch.
Charlie Wilson-Clark , Manager Mine Environment, Social and Geochemistry, says that "There remains an urgent need to keep challenging our traditional ideas about what it takes to succeed and create spaces for a more diverse range of people. We must ask ourselves, what might we be missing?"
Diane Riley, Client Director – Victoria (below, right), was also part of a panel celebrating the achievements of trailblazing women in transport while Sally Felice, Associate – Fire Protection Engineer, spoke at Sydney Build about diversity and inclusion in construction.
As a firm, WSP is committed to inclusion and belonging and fostering respectful environment where everyone can thrive. Globally, our goal is to increase the representation of women and under-represented groups within our business by five percent year-over-year. Within Australia, we continue to be an employer of choice for gender equality – one of only 129 companies – through the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) by focusing on leadership, regional representation and communications.
As part of the firm’s 2022-2024 Strategic Plan, we aim to have 30% of women in leadership roles – both at the global and local level. We provide flexible working arrangements, gender-neutral parental leave, as well as leave options for domestic and family violence. We are also working to achieve pay parity – reviewing our people’s salaries annually to reduce the pay gap.
In addition, our Gender Balance Action Plan details some key actions for us to shift the dial on gender diversity related performance. For example, we have mechanisms in place to increase leadership visibility in championing gender diversity, promote a Speak up Culture with safety leadership at its core, and ensure a greater focus on gender diversity in performance and career development conversations. We also offer an extensive range of learning activities related to gender diversity with topics including conscious and unconscious bias, psychological safety, inclusive conversations and more.
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