ANU engineering PhD student Francesca Maclean has been named 2017 Young ACT Woman of the Year for her work in promoting gender equity in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) fields.
Ms Maclean founded Fifty50 with fellow ANU engineering student Emily Campbell.
Ms Maclean said gender equality is vital for the engineering profession to effectively solve problems and that the profession must take an active role in ensuring true diversity is achieved.
“Engineers solve some of the grand challenges society faces, so we need to be able to provide the best solutions, which work for everyone, not just 50% of the population,” Ms Maclean said.
“We achieve this when we have diverse teams, of all genders, working together in an inclusive environment.
“As a profession, we need to do more than promote gender equity, we have to design our systems and processes to achieve it, treating equity and inclusion as non-negotiable values.”
The award was announced on International Women’s Day (IWD), and was one of three ACT Women’s Awards presented by the ACT Minister for Women, Yvette Berry, MLA.
The awards celebrate the achievements of women who have contributed significantly to the lives of women and girls in the local community.
Fifty50 is a student-run volunteer organisation aiming to develop an equitable and inclusive study and work environment for people of all backgrounds, especially females.
Ms Maclean said that she is proud of what Fifty50 has achieved, including mentoring of female students and conducting programs, workshops and public events.
“Founding Fifty50 with Em Campbell has been an incredibly rewarding experience, as we have grown from two engineers in a cafe to a team of over 30 students, with sponsorship from EY, Commonwealth Bank and the Department of Defence in under two years,” she said.
“We see first-hand the impact Fifty50 has in fostering an inclusive environment in which all students can succeed, and in seeing them empowered and primed for success as our future workforce through our mentoring and development programs.
“A highlight of the mentoring program, workshops, and panels Fifty50 has run has been when first year female students tell me that it is the first time they have been exposed to a diverse range of role models in engineering, and that they feel empowered from these experiences, which is incredibly important for them as they currently comprise only 20 per cent of the student population.
"We need to normalise diversity in engineering, as you can’t be what you can’t see.”
Image: Francesca Maclean with ACT Minister for Women, Yvette Berry, MLA. Image courtesy of the ACT Government.