Women in Industry

Woman of the Year Award recipient Engineers Australia CEO Dr Bronwyn Evans AM, speaking at the event.

Engineers Australia CEO receives prestigious Women in Industry award

THE WOMEN IN INDUSTRY AWARDS HAVE BEEN PRESENTED WITH THE WOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD GOING TO ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA CEO DR BRONWYN EVANS AM. DR EVANS ALSO RECEIVED THE WOMEN IN INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE IN ENGINEERING AWARD.

Dr Evans was acknowledged as an outstanding engineer and trailblazer in her field and she was the first woman to graduate from electrical engineering at Wollongong University. Her career has taken her from industry and academia to the boardroom and she is the first woman to occupy the role of CEO at the profession’s peak body Engineers Australia. Dr Evans was previously the first female CEO of Standards Australia, where she was instrumental in improving the standards development process and was elected to a global role on the ISO’s governing President’s Committee. Dr Evan’s career has involved both corporate and not-for-profit roles at the forefront of engineering both in Australia and globally, and has included senior executive roles at Cochlear Ltd and GE Heath, as well as non-executive board membership in the construction, medical technology, and digital business sectors. Dr Evans is a Chartered Engineer and Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia. In 2021, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Swinburne University and appointed as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for significant service to engineering, to standards and to medical technology. In accepting the award at the gala dinner held in Melbourne, Dr Evans said there was still much work to do to increase the number of women in industry. “Nights like tonight are important so we can celebrate our successes. However, we still need to have difficult conversations about education, bias, assumptions and missed opportunities for women in industry,” she said. “We know we will have succeeded when women are represented 50 per cent top to bottom. I urge all of us here tonight to use our profiles and our influence to be role models and to be champions for the amazing women who are joining our industries and professions.” The Women in Industry Awards recognise outstanding women from the industrials sector – those who work in mining, road transport, manufacturing, engineering, logistics, bulk handling, waste management, rail and infrastructure. The Excellence in Transport award was presented to Catherine Baxter who is the Chief Operating Officer of Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) and is responsible for safely operating metropolitan passengers’ services, and making sure they run on time and are cost effective. Under Ms Baxter’s leadership, MTM has rolled out a number of rail transport industry-driving “firsts” and innovations to drive continuous improvement.