Woman of the Year, Dr Bronwyn Evans has urged all women to be champions for those who are joining male-dominated industries and professions.
Accepting the top honour at the 2021 Women in Industry Awards in Melbourne on 7 April, Dr Evans, CEO Engineers Australia, said 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,” Dr Evans 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.”
Exceptional females working in waste management, mining, road transport, manufacturing, engineering, logistics, bulk handling and rail and infrastructure were acknowledged with 11 awards presented on the night, hosted by Prime Creative Media.
The Woman of the Year award, sponsored by ifm, was chosen from finalists in all categories. Dr Evans also won the Excellence in Engineering Award, sponsored by BAE Systems Australia.
Dr Evans has been acknowledged as a 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 Evans was appointed as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for her service to engineering.
Forging relationships
Larissa Rose, Director Consultant of GG Enviro was also among the winners, being presented with the Mentor of the Year Award.
Rose has curated an Internship and Mentoring Program through her company and has played a pivotal role in building the leaders of the future. Over the past four and half years, she has mentored more than 32 students, 80 per cent of them women.
Aside from helping students gain technical skills and experience in the waste management and environmental sector, she has given significant time to help mentees develop goal setting, career mapping and support their career development. That was never more evident than throughout the COVID-19 pandemic when Rose opened her company to several female students who were finding it difficult to complete internships and work experience.
In addition to taking on five female interns in the past seven months, Rose has helped mentor scores of young women starting their professional careers in environmental science through her role as an Adjunct Lecturer at Bond University.
On the move
Lacey Webb, Founder and Director of Resource Hub Consulting, claimed the Business Development of the Year Award.
Resource Hub Consulting started as a preferred supplier to a single client, with a handful of projects. However, during the past 12 months there has been a significant intentional shift in an approach to sales and diversifying revenue streams which has allowed the company to grow.
In April 2021, Resource Hub entered into a preferred partnership model with Mandalay Technologies, Australia’s largest waste management software provider, and has won major consultancy projects with several commercial clients.
In less than two years Resource Hub has grown to be an organisation with revenue above 200K which employs a team of all-female specialists within the traditionally male-led waste and resource recovery sector. In June 2020, Resource Hub had six customers, with more than 90 per cent of revenue generated by a single client. It now has 18 clients with seven additional clients pending commencement of their engagements, and access to a pool of more than 400 clients from its preferred partnership model.
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 CEO, Engineers Australia
- 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