Future looks bright for women in rail
This is an exciting time for rail in Australia and women are welcomed and encouraged to get on board and make a difference.
That’s the message from Rebecca Want, the new Chair of the Australasian Railway Association Women in Rail Advisory Committeeand GHD’s Transport Market Leader, Sydney.
Rebecca has built a successful career in rail, starting on the ground as a graduate engineer in rail maintenance and geotech and later working in asset management in the UK and large infrastructure projects across Australia – including the Sydney Metro, Airport Rail Link and Wynyard Walk.
She says her appointment is an opportunity to share her experience and passion and showcase the diverse opportunities available in the industry.
“Rail is so much more than sleepers, tracks and ballast. It’s a complex system starting with planning corridors that enable economic development, to urban design and architecture that create places. Importantly, the culture is shifting. More women are joining rail and contributing to solutions that put people and communities at the heart,” says Rebecca.
“When you are part of rail projects, you’re helping to connect regional towns to cities on projects like Faster Rail, or metropolitan towns to each other on projects like Sydney Metro. You’re also helping to improve livability in these communities enabling people of all ages to travel safely and more easily for work and leisure. You’re creating vibrant places where people and communities can thrive and you’re helping to transform lives,” she adds.
Rebecca loves the people connection that rail projects deliver and she wants other women to know they can be part of this too.
Rail offers endless career opportunities for anyone who wants to make an impact. All sorts of experts come together to create a transport spine to connect people – from engineers, designers, town planners, architects and landscapers to customer service and admin personnel, drivers, maintenance crew and project managers. The industry wants diversity in thinking to design, build and operate our rail systems and transport hubs. We want more women who bring a wonderful perspective to problem solving and collaboration.
Rebecca is confident about the future and says, “we are seeing a positive shift in the culture with more discussions, events and initiatives to increase diversity and attract more women into careers in rail. I’m optimistic that more can be achieved through a more welcoming and collaborative culture across industry.”
Together we can continue to build on this positive momentum to ensure we have inclusive teams – inclusion by design, not to be left by chance. This includes raising awareness and improving perceptions of the industry among aspiring talent and creating a welcoming culture for women – especially young women. It means intentional succession planning. It also means creating opportunities for women to network and support each other, equipping industry with the right tools and acknowledging women’s contribution.
If you want to join the Australian Railways Association Women in Rail mentoring program, look out for applications opening soon.
If you’d like to hear more about how GHD is creating future communities through rail projects, Rebecca Want and Michelle Cramer, GHD Future Communities Leader Australia, will be sharing their ideas at the Conference of Railway Engineering in Melbourne in June 2023.
At GHD we’re proud to support and promote gender equality and career development opportunities for women within our business and across industry as part of our broader commitment to inclusion and diversity. To find out more, read our 2022 Inclusion & Diversity Report.
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About GHD
GHD is a leading professional services company operating in the global markets of water, energy and resources, environment, property and buildings, and transportation. Committed to a vision to make water, energy, and communities sustainable for generations to come, GHD delivers advisory, digital, engineering, architecture, environmental and construction solutions to public and private sector clients. Established in 1928 and privately owned by its people, GHD’s network of 12,000+ professionals is connected across 160 offices located on five continents.