Internationally renowned speaker Susan Colantuono will speak at two Engineers Australia events for International Women's Day in Melbourne and Sydney next month.
CEO of consulting firm Leading Women, Susan Colantuono, says she will be discussing research that Leading Women and their Australian partners Lighthouse Group have successfully applied to help companies close the leadership gender gap. For engineers, she says there are three key issues.
"Organisations that employ engineers must be aware that their practices can either be hospitable or hostile to women," she said.
"Managers' actions create or remove barriers to the advancement of women engineers."
The third issue involves women engineers themselves. Colantuono says they must understand that advancement requires two identity shifts, which she will explain in more detail during the presentation.
The theme for this year's event is 'Be bold for change' and Colantuono believes women engineers have already demonstrated they have no shortage of boldness.
"They've successfully entered a field where they are scarce and proudly identify as professionals," she said.
"To advance they also need to boldly embrace their identities as business leaders."
Colantuono says the event shouldn't be considered just a women's event.
“If women aren’t proportionately represented throughout your organisation, you aren’t facing a women’s issue, you’re facing talent development and organisational culture issues with business implications," she said.
"So it’s important to bring your personal commitment and the same level of organisational accountability to that challenge as you would to any business issue.”
Lisa Annese, CEO of the Diversity Council of Australia, says she has attended a couple of the Engineers Australia events previously and described them as outstanding.
"They bring together many, many hundreds of women who work in non-traditional areas," Annese said.
"I think it's really important to be able to provide information, to have a discussion, to assess the status of women in non-traditional roles. Women are still quite under-represented in those roles despite increasing numbers at university studying things like engineering. However, it still seems like there are a lot of outright barriers and unconscious barriers preventing them from moving forward."
The events will be held in Melbourne on Wednesday 8 March and Sydney on Thursday 9 March. Each event will feature a masterclass in the morning followed by a lunch with Colantuono as the keynote speaker.
For more information visit www.engineersaustralia.org.au/IWD2017
[Susan Colantuono (left) and Lisa Annese (right)]