As part of IWD 2018 #PressforProgress, Women In Subsea Engineering (WISE), a working group of Subsea Energy Australia, have launched a campaign aimed at making some of the amazing women working in the subsea industry visible.

The idea that ‘you can’t be what you can’t see' was the catalyst for this project. ‘Wavemaker Stories’ celebrates the achievements of twelve female subsea engineers – all of whom have forged successful technical careers within the subsea industry.

The campaign has been designed across multiple platforms to reach a variety of audiences.

The Online Campaign

http://www.wavemakerstories.org.au/ is a new website, which features the stories of the twelve female subsea engineers. They represent a broad range of science and engineering disciplines; and they also depict a global workforce. The women were asked to share their stories, their passion for science and engineering, what their careers entailed and how they achieved successful careers. Over 12 days, the content within was shared via our social media channels and #wavemakerstories

The Exhibition

Designed to be mobile, the exhibition has for the past several weeks been located firstly in the foyer of Parmelia House, 197 St Georges Terrace, Perth, then to the Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition & Conference, and then to the foyer at Central Park, 152-158 St Georges Terrace, Perth. It is now available to loan to any school, community organisation or government group who would like to increase the visibility of women working technical professions and encourage younger girls to pursue STEM careers.

The Career Comic Book

The Wavemaker Comic Book features the Wavemakers as comic book characters. Aimed at children aged 7-11, it depicts realistic female characters, using real scenarios and real subsea technologies. The Wavemakers Comic Book is available for advance purchase at $25 per copy. Each copy purchased will also enable the donation of a copy to an Australian School library. Purchase online: https://wavemakerstories.org.au/comic-book/

Images below: Meet the Wavemaker Exhibition stands in situ at 197 St Georges Terrace. The stands feature artwork of glass, Silvana Ferrario (Siju Glass), who began her career as a subsea engineer.

Image below: Wavemaker comic sample stills stories written by the wavemakers themselves, illustrated by graphic designer Dimas Yuli.

Every year, International Women’s Day provides us with a global opportunity to come together and acknowledge the achievements and aspirations of the women amongst us. It’s a day to reflect on past struggles, and a day to realise how far we have to go. This year, it was the perfect day to launch the Wavemakers project, an initiative developed over the course of the past year by the WISE Task Force. 

Wavemaker Stories celebrates the significant achievements of twelve outstanding women in the subsea industry. Their stories are told through the mobile exhibition on show throughout various locations in Perth. There is also a Wavemaker Stories website and a career comic book being developed. The comic book tells the professional story of the twelve Wavemakers, taking the reader through real problems solved by real heroes.

The evening was guested by two keynote speakers, Dr Anne Aly, the Member for Cowan, and Morgan Harland from Woodside’s subsea division, both of whom are accomplished leaders in their respective fields. It was a fantastic chance to hear some words of wisdom from two passionate speakers on diversity, equality and fairness, two speakers who practised what they spoke of.

Dr Anne Aly graced us with an inspiring call to arms, sharing her childhood memories and the course of her experiences through the classically patriarchal industries of academia and politics. With reference to the below average representation of women in STEM industries, Dr Anne Aly reminded us of the potential that all young women have, and gave her heartfelt encouragement for the supporting and nurturing of all aspiring women around the world.

Morgan Harland, General Manager of Subsea and Pipeline at Woodside shared with us his professional experiences, and described the companies demonstrated commitment to equality and diversity. Morgan tempered these achievements with some honest reflections on the barriers that women still face in and across the STEM industries, as well as the work that’s still to be done. It was a sincere appraisal of both what has been achieved in the name of diversity, and the opportunities that remain.

Complimenting the company and guest speakers was the talented musician Grace Armstrong who charmed us throughout the night with her guitar and beautiful voice. The evening was a wonderful opportunity to connect with colleagues over a glass of wine and celebrate all the achievements of women internationally, and especially the Wavemakers amongst us.

Congratulations, Wavemakers!

On 14^th September 2017 SEA launched the first of 2 workshops introducing mentors to mentees and setting the scene for our first SEA/WISE mentorship program.

Arvind Chetty and Frances Eaton address the Mentors.

Now we have led the horses to water, so to speak, how can we assist in getting them to drink? This was the main goal of the workshop. Both Frances Eaton and Arvind Chetty introduced some key principles on how to make the relationship work.

Start with the basics

It is all about engagement. Mentoring relationships, just like any other relationship, need commitment, communication and preparation.

Frances explained that the first step to engagement between mentor and mentee is to have both parties on the same page and believing in the viable success of the partnership. Using their detailed workbook, the mentors and mentees paired off to discuss the following:

Objectives must be defined

The attendees were asked to discuss the who and the why. Who are you, what brought you to seek a mentor/mentee, what drives you and what are your goals as well as why ….why are we meeting and what do we want to accomplish? If both mentor and mentee understand their roles and duties, they will understand that this mentorship has a purpose to achieve.

Timing is everything

As both participants are busy people, there need to be clearly defined times to meet and those times need to be adhered to. We asked the attendees to be realistic with the time frame they set and for the mentee to develop leadership in following up and driving the engagement dates and times.

Keep up with progress

Mentees and mentors should track the progress made in the relationship, not only for the ROI for the program, but to insure the partnership is productive. Frances explained that like any partnership, if there is no ‘chemistry’ and the relationship isn’t working out there is always a “no fault reassignment policy” to ensure both parties can continue mentoring.

Feedback should be encouraged and expected

This relationship is about achieving progress. Feedback and guidance should factor into that regularly.

A mentoring relationship is a highly functioning relationship that can achieve results if flowing smoothly. Arvind indicated that he has been a mentor for many years and feels he has learned as much from his mentees as he hoped they learned from him. It is important to understand that as long as both parties are clear on what they need to achieve, when they are going to achieve it, and how they will go about doing so, the mentorship will perform well.

For more information about our program and the next intake, please contact Frances or check out the main SEA website.

The call is out! WISE is seeking your support in a number of ways - 

1. Volunteers to participate in focus groups
2. Commitment from companies to participate in the survey – Curtin University will require companies to fill out a survey regarding on gender representation. Companies with no females employed in STEM professions may also participate.
3. Funding to carry out the survey – Sponsorships from companies will receive public acknowledgement in all related publications, online platforms and public presentations (2018 AOG). Contributions from individuals are also highly encouraged – every $50 counts towards launching the survey.

Please let us know if you are able to assist in options  1 or 2 of these support areas by filling in our expression of interest form.  You can contribute financially via our Chuffed.org campaign.

Associate Professor Linley Lord, Director of the Maureen Bickley Centre for Women in Leadership (Curtin Graduate School of Business) delivered an enlightening presentation describing the aims and objectives of the work. Her slides contain an excellent summary of the information she shared:

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WISE needs your support to make this possible! Every $50 or $100 donation will count to us being able to get this survey done.

All sponsors and individual cash contributions will be mentioned in the:

• Curtin University report
• On the WISE website
• In 2018 AOG publications and presentations
• In reporting to the Australian Government
• In reporting to Senator Michaela Cash

Principal partners ($5000 or above) will receive prime branding and special mention.

As part of our Framework, WISE is committed to developing female engineers working in or wanting to work in the subsea industry. Our journey of awarding valuable professional development opportunities started six months ago when we were awarded the Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship Grant from the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.

Since then, WISE has awarded 18 different development opportunities to over 35 females including students, young professionals and professionals in senior roles. Each recipient has reported back to the wider WISE Network through our LinkedIn group, in an effort to continue sharing knowledge and transferring skills. 

Supporting women to participate in training and skills development is a key way to increase the variety of roles accessible to female students and engineers. Programs like this are crucial in an period when the industry is experiencing a downturn and therefore the employers are cutting costs for opportunities like training.

SUT ETM: Subsea Controls, Renewables and Compression

SEA Masterclass: Contracts in the Subsea Industry

Subsea Energy Australia Masterclass Series on Risk Management

Based on the feedback we have received, we have summarised the key benefits that the WISE professional development opportunities are bringing to our members:

1. It can sharpen knowledge

Refreshing knowledge through seminars and events can help stay updated on the knowledge obtained when an individual was a student and on the hands-on skills they have acquired on the job. This is an extremely important benefit for both, females looking to re-enter the workforce and for the ones seeking a new role.

2. Build confidence and credibility

Female engineers in a male dominated environment often struggle with building and displaying confidence. By attending professional development opportunities, they can build confidence in the work they do and it also helps them to build credibility as they continue to gain new skill sets and certificates.

3. Develops new skills

Whether wanting to grow in current position or move to a leadership role, taking professional development courses will provide women with a competitive edge. These programs are an easy way to gain important knowledge quickly.

4. Re-connecting with the industry, networking and meeting new contacts

Attending seminars and courses presents the opportunity to meet other like-minded professionals who might become valuable contacts in the future. This is especially important for women wanting the re-connect with the industry after a longer period of leave as they can gain visibility and establish new contacts.

5. Connecting students and the industry

As many graduates are struggling to find work due to increasing competition and fewer opening for new recruits, by attending development opportunities, they can develop new skills that will set them apart from the competition and establish relationships with subsea professionals who might help guiding their career path.

The skill development opportunities were selected as they focused on both technical and professional skills development. Here is a summary of the development opportunities availed:

• Evening Technical Meetings,and YES! Evening Events (Society for Underwater Technology)
• Offshore Geohazards & Geotechnics course (Society for Underwater Technology)
• Contracts in the Subsea Industry Masterclass (Subsea Energy Australia)
• Risk Management Masterclass (Subsea Energy Australia)
• Foreign Direct Investment and Mitigation of Risk Through International Law Masterclass (Subsea Energy Australia)
• Subsea Inspection and Reliability  (Engineers Australia)
• Introduction to the Petroleum Industry (Petroleum Club of Western Australia)
• The impact of microbes in oil and gas systems from reservoir souring to microbiologically influenced corrosion (Society of Petroleum Engineers)
• Scalable systems for reservoir modeling on modern hardware platforms (Society of Petroleum Engineers)
• Gender diversity and inclusion targets: CEOs leading the way (CEDA)
• How diversity and inclusion can build a strong and resilient Oil and Gas industry (WIOG)
• An Evening with Michael Schoch - GM of Shell Australia (WIOG)

Our mission is to make a difference and a positive impact on as many female engineers as we can reach. By getting them involved in development, training and connecting them to a supportive community of individuals walking the same gravel path we can influence the bigger picture and contribute to the economic development of the Australian subsea industry.