Retaining and promoting female engineers will not only strengthen leadership pipelines but also secure the technical expertise needed to deliver Australia’s infrastructure, energy and innovation priorities.
Engineers are at the heart of building Australia’s future – from delivering infrastructure that connects communities to accelerating the renewable energy transition and driving technological innovation.
But the profession is grappling with a prolonged skills shortage that will only intensify as experienced engineers retire and fewer young people enter the field.
The construction sector, for example, is feeling this acutely.
“Australia’s construction industry faces a critical skills shortage. An aging workforce and slow influx of new talent are widening the gap – and women remain significantly underrepresented, making up just 12 per cent of the workforce,” said Mark Dimmock, Laing O’Rourke Australia Managing Director.
One of the clearest opportunities to ease this pressure is tapping into the vast, underutilised talent pool of women, said Greg Kane, President and Managing Director of WSP Australia.
“Gender diversity … is a bit of a burning platform for our industry, particularly at the senior levels,” he said.
Women make up just 19.4 per cent of engineering graduates in Australia. While this is a noticeable increase from 2022 (8.3 per cent), attrition remains high – with only about 11 per cent progressing into engineering roles after graduation and less than half remaining in the profession ten years later. And a global backlash against diversity targets makes things all the more challenging.
“Retaining female talent as they progress through their careers – particularly at that stage in life where family dynamics and commitments evolve – continues to be a broken rung for some that our industry hasn’t yet solved.”
The urgency of gender diversity
At WSP, the focus on gender diversity is deliberate.
“When I stand in front of a town hall, I don’t necessarily see a diversity problem in our business in terms of cultural or ethnic backgrounds,” Kane said. “But gender diversity at senior levels is different.”
The issue appears to be a pipeline rather than recruitment problem.
“We’re north of 50 per cent gender parity in our graduate intake. The challenge is retaining this talent through mid-career,” he said.
Industry-wide, the participation rate of women declines as seniority increases. In Australia, female representation at WSP comprises 27 per cent of engineers overall; but that number drops to around 21 per cent in leadership roles.
Mid-career professionals are those whose time has already become more valuable, with their experience and know-how quality having a significant impact on an efficient and diligent project delivery, said Monica Lizariturry, mother of two and Head of Investment at Iberdrola Australia.
“Losing this talent has a real impact on a project’s cost of capital, as inefficiencies, track record loss, new employee training, and recruitment spend have both time and money consequences on projects,” she said. “Retaining this talent not only has direct project benefits, but also enhances employee satisfaction and team strength, and increases gender equality at senior leadership levels.”
This is why WSP is actively attempting to address this issue.
“We embed gender diversity in our recruitment process, including using gender non-specific language in our job advertisements,” Kane said. “We also do specific talent mapping around gender diversity. When we open roles internally, we require a minimum number of female candidates depending on the number of applicants. It’s built into how we run the business.”
However, a critical moment for women – especially during mid-career – is when they have children, Lizariturry said.
“Many women decide to step back on their career at this time as they don’t see an option for it to progress while raising a family in parallel,” she said. “But I believe having a clear program to give women a good work-family balance, and the certainty to return to their previous role after maternity leave, the retention rate would increase, with large benefits to business.”
A good placement program during maternity leave, a strong team organisation, and a smooth but certain return plan is key, Lizariturry said. “This will encourage women to continue their careers in engineering – rather than returning later to a less challenging part time work – or at least, give it a go.”
To help women achieve this balance, WSP has embedded retention strategies including flexible work arrangements with no mandated days in the office, the ongoing expansion of parental leave, fertility and miscarriage leave – and even PPE designed for women and pregnant employees.
Now, 40 per cent of WSP’s Australian leadership team are women – up from 20 per cent a year ago. “So, we’re making progress,” Kane said, “but we’re cognisant we still have significantly more to learn and implement in order to create a fairer, gender-equal firm.”
Over at Laing O’Rourke, Dimmock said the company has set clear targets to achieve gender balance and backed them with robust policies. In 2022, it introduced 26 weeks of paid leave for parents. The company also runs an Inspiring STEM+ program, which partners with schools to encourage female students to consider careers in construction.
Responding to global backlash on diversity targets
Parts of the world – particularly North America – are experiencing political and cultural resistance to diversity targets. But Kane thinks Australia is different.
“We have made no change to any of our policies. We still think it’s important. We still think it’s a business imperative,” he said. “If you want to attract clients to give you work and if you want to attract and retain talent, this has to remain important.”
For WSP, Australia’s stance on diversity is backed by strong stakeholder alignment.
“Our investors, board, clients and our people value its importance,” Kane said. “If we were to walk away from these ambitions and commitment, it wouldn’t sit well with these stakeholders.”
Breaking down systemic barriers
Engineers Australia acknowledges the significant contribution women make to the profession and the ongoing need to create pathways that attract and retain more women in engineering.
Dimmock said Engineers Australia research has been so clear that women leave workplaces, not the profession.
“The work is rewarding and challenging, however we need to ensure that our workplaces are those where women thrive,” he said.
Across the country, women in engineering are reshaping industries and redefining what’s possible. However, the numbers reveal a persistent gap. Women make up just 16 per cent of Australia’s engineering workforce and only 12 per cent in construction.
Engineers Australia CEO Romilly Madew AO FTSE HonFIEAust EngExec said these figures don’t reflect a lack of talent.
“They reflect structural barriers and outdated ideas of what an engineer looks like,” she said. “Innovation thrives on diversity. Engineering must be seen as a career for everyone regardless of gender, background or birthplace.”
To help shift perceptions early, Engineers Australia is investing in its Inspiring Future Engineers program, an initiative that demystifies engineering, highlights the diversity of career opportunities available and showcases role models to engage high school students.
“Future Engineers is about challenging stereotypes and sparking ambition. It shows young people that engineering isn’t just boots and hard hats. It’s about addressing global challenges like climate change, designing sustainable communities and building systems that work for everyone,” Madew said.
Read: Girls urged to consider Engineering as a ‘impactful’ career
Engineering has evolved into one of the most diverse future-focused careers available. The challenge now is to grow and shape a workforce that can meet the demands of today and anticipate the needs of tomorrow.
“It’s a great time to be an engineer and we’re here to make engineering a clear and visible path for every girl who wants to follow it,” she said.
At WSP, Kane is adamant that the journey to gender diversity is far from over. “We’re not in the perfect place on this – it’s a journey for us, like the rest of the industry,” he said.
Through his role as chair of Consult Australia’s Champions of Change, Kane is calling for coordinated industry action. “Our industry here in Australia just needs to stay committed to this. We’ve got plenty of work still to do. And we need others along the way to join in and play their role.”
Click here to find out how WSP is delivering lasting impact.
