Each year, Tetra Tech marks International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), to highlight the amazing work by women who have progressed their careers in Science, Engineering and Construction.
Tetra Tech Coffey is committed to supporting women in our industry, recognising their significant contribution which is why this year we celebrate the #EngineerHeroes that make our industry so great.
To mark INWED, 2021 and women in STEM more broadly, we joined forces with our colleagues from across our Tetra Tech APAC region to hear from some of Tetra Tech’s most talented. In a live virtual panel event, we brought together women with representation from Norman Disney & Young (NDY), Eco Logical Australia (ELA), Tetra Tech Coffey and Tetra Tech International Development.
Our people heard from some of our inspiring women leaders including Brigid Moriarty President, Tetra Tech Coffey, Amy Gildea Managing Director Asia Pacific, Tetra Tech International Development, Renee Fourie Associate Director, NDY, Lisa Adams Senior Principal Environmental Scientist, ELA, Samantha Temara, and Scambi Okuk both who are Infrastructure Project Managers with Tetra Tech International Development in PNG.
The panel was moderated by Alice Chaplin, GM New Zealand Tetra Tech Coffey and who is also Chair of the global Tetra Tech Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council and chair of the COF/ELA ANZ D&I Committee, and a Civil Engineer.
Connecting with leaders from around our Asia Pacific region
Attendees of the Virtual Panel heard first hand from our leaders about their career progression and what it means to be in this field, who has inspired/helped them along their career journeys and their advice on how to surround yourself with career advocates/heroes.
Our team took away a number of key points from the insightful panel discussion:
Brigid Moriarty President, Tetra Tech Coffey shared ‘Gravitate towards like-minded people. Their support has been the foundation of my progression. I cannot speak highly enough for the technically brilliant people we have in our company and how that has supported my career and how that will support everyone else’s careers.’
‘They are pivotal to where I am now.’
Amy Gildea, Managing Director, Asia Pacific for Tetra Tech International Development expanded on this thinking, ‘People know when you’re passionate about things and they often lean in alongside you and lean in to get involved and support you, so absolutely remember your purpose and your focus.
Renee Fourie, Associate Director from NDY noted that her heroes growing up were a group of female teachers she had for science, maths and biology. ‘I had female teachers for all three of those subjects and they really moulded and enabled me to challenge myself in those subjects.’
This connection between having a female role model in STEM and being able to make a connection during formative years is crucial to be able to feed young women into careers in engineering and science.
And of challenging situations or barriers she has faced, Brigid remarked ‘in very challenging circumstances we need to understand that we have the resources within the Tetra Tech companies to support us. We need to draw on those people around us that have experienced this before to assist us in difficult situations.’
Thank you also to Stuart Fowler CEO, NDY and Mark Adams CEO, ELA who were on hand to give commentary around key aspects of this important area for Engineering and future STEM support.