Saturday 8 March was International Women’s Day. The day is a chance to celebrate the achievements of women within our society, as well as a chance to reflect on the progress that has been made towards reaching equality, and the progress that is still required.
It is common for organisations to say they are committed to change, but it is a different thing to actually instigate change.
I am proud that at Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW), we genuinely take equality seriously and actively take steps to ensure we are a corporation where women can thrive.
Some actions we have taken in recent years, such as increasing the parental leave available to our staff, and ensuring we have safety clothing that fits everyone, support all staff as well as removing obstacles that have often affected women in the past.
Other actions have been more focused on empowering women. These include the various development opportunities we have provided to our female employees, such participation in People Measures’ Women in Leadership Development Course and Insight’s Executive Leadership for Women in Water program.
The impact of these actions can be seen in how GMW has evolved.
When I joined in 2019, just over 25 per cent of our staff were women. This has steadily increased over the years, with women now making up 31 per cent of our workforce
It is also encouraging to see a lot of these employees are in leadership positions and traditionally male-dominated roles. Four of the nine staff in our senior leadership team and five of our nine directors are women.
As an engineer myself, it has been particularly encouraging to see the increase in women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) roles at GMW in recent years.
Our staff are not only leading change in GMW but the water industry more broadly.
In late 2024, the inaugural Women in Large Dams gathering, sponsored by GMW, was held as part of the ANCOLD dam safety conference.
I had the privilege of speaking at the event and was also glad to see several other GMW employees involved in the event.
GMW’s involvement in the event exemplifies the ripple effect that comes from initiating change in the workplace.
Creating more opportunities for our female employees not only helps the individuals who receive these opportunities, but GMW and the water and agriculture industries more broadly.
Upskilling staff upskills the business, and creating a workplace where women are equipped to achieve in traditionally male gendered fields helps us create a workplace where everyone can be their best selves.
It is exciting to see the progress GMW has made in recent years and there is still more we want to achieve.
We have a goal of achieving at least 40 per cent female participation within our workforce and also want to see a further increase in the number of women we have in STEM and leadership roles.
We have other diversity and inclusion targets outside of gender that we are similarly devoted to achieving.
The changes we have seen within GMW show we are well on the way to achieving this.
I am proud of the progress we have made and fully believe that more is still to come.