Breaking down barriers in the pipeline industry

from The Australian Pipeliner October 21

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Justine Hyams working out in the field.

Historically, low female participation has been an ongoing issue in energy industries, with companies struggling to attract, retain and promote women. The APGA is attempting to shift this imbalance by offering more women’s networking opportunities and leadership development programs. The Australian Pipliner sat down with two women who are challenging the conventional stereotypes and paving the way for future female industry figures.

Cara Robb

Cara Robb works in Project and Change Support with energy provider Jemena. Her responsibilities include coordinating projects and working with asset management across gas and electricity initiatives.

“I never saw myself working in a utilities company; I literally had no idea about utilities when I came into the business,” she says.

Ms Robb has a diverse career background. After migrating across from the education sector, which is so often female dominated, starting a career in utilities was something of a culture shock.

“You are acutely aware of being the only female onsite,” she explains.

Since making the move to Jemena, Ms Robb quickly became involved in women’s groups, making up part of the APGA’s pilot of the Women’s Leadership Development Program.

“Being in a female-only environment offers a different atmosphere,” she says.

“In the training, there’s no judgment; everyone shares stories about what isn’t working in the industry.”

Networking, Ms Robb says, is vital for retaining women in the industry.

“These spaces emulate the networking that men in the industry do quite naturally. Women don’t necessarily celebrate their own achievements. But when we get together, we become each other’s support and cheerleaders.”

Since then, Ms Robb has been very active in associated activities of the APGA women’s program.

“From that I have delved into working with the industry to try and keep building up a Women in Pipelines network. It was something we raised in 2019, but there was such high interest that last year the APGA had many more cohorts come through.

“We want women to come into the industry – to feel supported, safe, and build up on that so they can continue in the industry, because predominantly it has been historically a male environment.”

Before joining Jemena, Ms Robb studied teaching, specialising in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). One of her greatest projects has been to promote STEM for girls in primary and high schools.

This strong pedagogical arrow to her bow has informed Ms Robb’s experience in the utilities industry. As an educator and a graduate from the Women’s Development Program, growing individuals particularly important to her.

Ms Robb is currently Chair of the Victorian branch of the Young Pipeliners Forum.

“I definitely want to be a mentor for those who aren’t quite sure - a sounding board or an advocate for people to learn from,” she says.

That there is a future for women in the pipeline industry is an inextricable part of the message Ms Robb wants to impart on emerging field figures and instil into the next generation of industry leaders.

“Girls can see that they can be engineers, they

"We want women to come into the industry – to feel supported, safe, and build up on that so they can continue in the industry, because predominantly it has been historically a male environment."

can work out in the field and be a liney. They can do whatever they want to do – they just need strong, visible role models to show them that there is not just the stereotypical model of career types.

“The prevailing assumption is that engineers are men. You don’t see the jobs that are out there if you don’t see people like you represented in that industry.”

In order to know what opportunities are available to young women, Ms Robb says they must be actively included in the industry in one way or another.

“Jemena is doing a community program in Victoria, getting some of the female employees from the business – engineers, control room workers, people who work in the field – to actually go out to primary schools, trying to get that representation from an early age, to try and get more girls interested in maths and science.”

Ms Robb believes that awareness, education and strong networking opportunities are our best chance for attracting, retaining and promoting women in pipelines.

Justine Hyams

Justine Hyams is a Senior Consultant at MBS Environmental with 25 years’ experience in a wide range of industries, including aviation, road engineering, pipeline construction and project management.

Ms Hyams has worked in linear construction with roads and pipelines since 2005. Her first pipeline was a $750 million looping project in Western Australia.

There is significant risk associated with the work Ms Hyams oversees, from scheduling to reputational to monetary risk.

“Every day is something different and it’s always a challenge. There is not one day in this job that I have not learnt something,” she says.

“Some of the relationships I have made over the years have been so enduring. Pressure is always the litmus test for a person’s character.”

Ms Hyams is also Deputy Chair of the WA Chapter of APGA, where her responsibilities include lobbying for pipeline owners and constructing. She has a few theories on why women are so grossly underrepresented in the industry, but her main suggestion is to do with the transient nature of the work.

“It’s not something with a lot of continuity in it: you tend to bump around from project to project to project. Before you get into a senior role, you don’t have the security that you need. Juggling children, it’s a bit more difficult for women. It shouldn’t be, but it is.”

“Until construction companies value grads and commit to them in the long term - not just during the period when construction is under way - it will continue to be a male dominated

Cara Robb works in Project and Change Support with Jemena.

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From left: Jim Cairns, Christine Meilak, Gayle Burns, Cara Robb and Tess Gardner at the APGA Networking Drinks in Melbourne this year.

environment,” she says.

Education is another barrier to women joining the industry.

“We are putting more women and girls into STEM, which is really important. But there is no degree in Australia for pipeline engineering.”

A conventional pathway into pipelines usually begins with a mechanical engineering degree, from which engineers can then specialise.

“If it’s not offered in the curriculum, then how can you be aware that that’s a career pathway? When you are a young student and going into something like that, there aren’t many women doing that line of work with a pipelining focus, so it’s difficult for girls to see it as an option.”

Ms Hyams acknowledges that there has been significant development in the industry, but more work still needs to be done.

“When I first started doing this kind of work, I’d be the only woman on an airplane travelling out to site,” she says.

“And that would be a real challenge.”

Ms Hyams says the most dramatic change has occurred over the past 10 to 15 years.

“The only women you would see would be site nurses and administrative staff. That has now expanded out completely differently: you’ve got people in design engineering roles, procurement and contracting roles, scheduling, operating; women are doing much more of the heavy lifting work.”

But even facilities can pose a barrier for women feeling welcome in oil and gas sectors.

“For instance, when I came back to pipelining, I was breastfeeding, and there was nowhere to do that except the toilets,” she says.

“And that’s unacceptable. Things like that have changed, but that was really a challenge for me.”

Ms Hyams is a passionate advocate for women’s maternal rights, and for five years was Chair of the Board for The Bump WA – a notfor-profit maternity service for new mothers.

Creating an equitable environment means taking measures to ensure women feel comfortable and supported.

“Culture is set at the top,” says Ms Hyams.

Justine Hyams is a Senior Consultant at MBS Environmental.

She adds that employers need to better invest in their junior female staff in order to see better female retention in the industry.

Ms Hyams agrees that networking is a viable solution for helping women to feel included by the industry, but currently these opportunities are only available to those in the ‘purple circle’. Helping women to connect with one another across industries will help generate a sense of solidarity.

“Companies need to invest in those things. It’s not a lot of money; there’s a training budget, and companies should use it.”

Alongside networking, better mentoring opportunities should be available to women in the industry.

“Everybody should be mentored, but if you mentor young women, you could be educating them on the very clear hurdles that they face. Employers need to understand where their hurdles might be,” she says.

Greater female representation is vital for creating a culture of support and for striking out patriarchal culture.

“I was in a meeting the other day and one of the girls there sent me a text message saying, ‘Did you just get completely fobbed off?’ And I said ‘Yes, I do believe that was what happened.’ You need someone else there to acknowledge that you’re not going mad when you have been shut down in a meeting,” says Ms Hyams.

“It’s important to know, because then I can take it to that person and say, ‘Are you aware that this is what you’re doing when you’re engaging with me?’ If you don’t have somebody else backing you, you don’t always have the confidence to do that.”

Without greater female representation in the industry, it will continue to be difficult to address these microaggressions. Ms Hyams is enacting the changes she wants to see happen in industry for women.

"Everybody should be mentored, but if you mentor young women, you could be educating them on the very clear hurdles that they face. Employers need to understand where their hurdles might be."

For more information on the APGA Women’s Leadership Development Program visit www.apga.org.au

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