Female engineers underutilised and underpaid
A new report from Engineers Australia and WSP finds that 13,000 more women could be in direct engineering roles if employed at the same rate as men. Additionally, Workplace Gender Equality Agency data reveals the gender pay gap persists in the professional scientific and technical services industry. It consistently reports one of the largest pay gaps in Australia at five per cent greater than the all-sector average of 11.2 per cent, meaning men in that sector are out-earning women by an even wider margin than the national baseline.
Other findings show female representation drops sharply through the middle years, declining by around one per cent annually.
The report was published in response to concerns over a skills shortage and to mark International Women in Engineering Day.
Engineers Australia chief executive Romilly Madew said one of the challenges the research uncovered was that engineers can experience a “fundamental shift when choosing a pathway out of field-based work, which many women choose to do after returning from parental leave.
“This raised questions about how employers can support middle career engineers to successfully and intentionally navigate this crossroad and transformation.”
President and managing director of WSP Greg Kane said too many women were not progressing through the middle stages of their careers at the same rate as their male peers,.
“Addressing this issue is not only a matter of equity. It is also a matter of economic and industry performance,” he said.
What we’re reading
Climate risk concerns heighten over data centre boom
Australia’s strong appetite for AI has sparked environmental concerns over the rapid development of data centres after a global analysis identified many digital infrastructure hubs as climate-risk hotspots, according to an ABC report.
Of the 11 hazards examined, extreme heat emerged as the key challenge for Australia’s digital infrastructure as the nation faces one of the steepest increases in climate risk for the energy- and water-intensive infrastructure.
In response, the federal government is encouraging companies seeking construction to offset their energy use with additional renewable energy generation.
The Planning Institute of Australia’s head of policy and advocacy, Nicole Bennets, said the most important regulatory focus should be on “strategic planning at the front end so that we can say these are the best locations for data centres.”
Australians show majority support for reduced housing prices
New polling shows Australians support reduced housing prices regardless of their political affiliations or income group. Support was strongest among Labor voters (64 per cent), property investors (62 per cent), uncommitted voters (57 per cent), and younger people aged between 18 and 34 (60 per cent).
Overall, of the 1800 people polled, 54 per cent supported lower house prices, 11 per cent were opposed, and 35 per cent were unsure or neutral.
The results are taken from the Resolve Political Monitor Poll, which assessed whether voters supported a decrease in housing prices despite pushback to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s overhaul of the tax system to address affordability concerns.
See The Sydney Morning Herald.
Egis appointed Partner for Transurban’s Southern Assets
Infrastructure and operations firm, Egis, has been appointed to manage incident response and routine maintenance for Transurban’s toll roads in southern Sydney, including WestConnex, the Eastern Distributor, and the Cross City Tunnel.
The new partnership focuses on streamlining proactive servicing under a single, coordinated operating model for a more consistent road user experience across the north-south network.
