Summit Agenda Day 1
Tuesday, 22 August 2023
07:50
Registration and Morning Refreshments
08:30
Welcome to Country
08:50
Chairperson’s Opening Address
Christina Yiakkoupis, Chair of the Board of Directors, National Association of Women in Construction (Australia National)
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ADDRESSING THE INDUSTRY’S LEAKY PIPELINE
09:00
Opening Keynote: The Construction Industry Culture Taskforce - Setting the cultural direction of the construction industry
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An update on the Construction Industry Culture Taskforce
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Outlining the outcomes for 2022 within each sector of the Cultural Standard including diversity and inclusion, wellbeing, and time for life
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Understanding what the Cultural Standard currently looks like and where the gaps are
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How the Cultural Standard can be enacted in your organisation
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Gabrielle Trainor AO, Interim Chair, Infrastructure Australia; Chair, Construction Industry Culture Taskforce
09:30
Panel Discussion: Empowering your female talent to successfully achieve their career goals
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Understand what leaders can do to support their emerging female talent
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Unpacking the value of supporting diverse teams and its effect on retention rates
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How can we increase the recruitment of women into trade based roles?
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Success stories of how industry leaders are retaining female talent
(Moderator) Janine Lonergan, Acting Chief Executive, Infrastructure NSW
Jon Davies, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Constructors Association (ACA)
Maree Bridger, Chief Operating Officer, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
Adam Copp, Chief Executive Officer, Infrastructure Australia
10:30
Table Discussion: What can organisation do to fix the leaky pipeline?
10:40
Speed Networking
11:00
Morning Tea
11:30
Charity Partner Presentation: It’s easy to break the glass, you just need a hammer.
Hear Joanne Farrell share how her NFP Build Like A Girl improves the representation of women in trade-based roles. Discover the core issues behind women making up less than 2% of all tradespeople in Australia.
Jo Farrell, Founder, Build Like a Girl; General Manager (ACT), Kane Constructions
11:50
Fireside Chat: How to attract gen-Z in a time of industry-wide shortages
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Uncover what gen-z want from an organisation and why
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Strategise how your company’s operations can appeal to this generation
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What initiatives or government programs are accessible for employers to help combat these staff shortages?
(Moderator) Emma Sckrabei, Director, The Umbrella Collective; 2022 NAWIC ACT Crystal Vision Winner
Helen Lingard, RMIT Distinguished Professor, RMIT University
Miranda Swift, Cadet Civil Engineer, Northrop Consulting Engineers; 2022 NAWIC NSW University Student of the Year
12:30
Panel Discussion: From Policy to Reality – Leading inclusive change to practically create equal opportunities for all
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Strategies to implement inclusive change that is realistic, practical, and avoids tokenism
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Incorporating intersectional leadership in daily operations
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How can hiring and interview processes help weed out unconscious bias in the workplace?
(Moderator) David Sellin, Company Secretary and Corporate Counsel, John Holland; Co-Chair, John Holland Pride Network
Sharon Gray, Group Manager, Indigenous and Social Inclusion, CPB Contractors
Benjamin Morris, Group Head of HR, Mirvac
Karen Quinlan, ANZ Manager – People & Culture, SMEC; Director – People and Culture RBG & SMEC ANZ, Robert Bird Group
Nick Farhan, Director – People, Culture and Talent, Infrastructure Australia
1:10
Networking Lunch
2:10
Trivia
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STEP UP AND STAND OUT
2:20
Interactive Mini Masterclass: Unlock the keys to authentic personal branding.
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Defining your personal brand by determining your unique selling proposition (USP)
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Authentically communicating your brand
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How to effectively extend your USP on intranets such as LinkedIn
Friska Wirya, Principal Owner, Fresh by Friska
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REVERSING THE INVISIBILITY SPELL
3:20
Closing Keynote: Increasing your leadership visibility to have greater impact in a male-dominated industry
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Recognising your uniqueness as a leader ​
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Making your leadership known in a male-dominated industry
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Defining ‘bold leadership’ in construction, engineering, and infrastructure
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Breaking industry barriers by leading outside the box
Sarah Tozer, General Manager Strategy & New Business (Building), John Holland
3:50
Chairperson’s Closing Address
4:00
Networking Drinks and End of Summit Day One
Summit Agenda Day 2
Wednesday, 23 August 2023
08:30
Registration and Morning Refreshments
09:00
Chairperson’s Opening Address
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Alesha Printz, General Manager, Victoria Engineers Australia; Board Member, Engineers Without Borders Australia
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CHAMPIONING A POSITIVE WORKPLACE CULTURE
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Bring along a male or non-binary ally for the morning plenary sessions (up until morning tea)
Including non-binary and male voices is crucial to accelerating change when it comes to eliminating gender bias in workplaces. Bring along the allies in your company who are true advocates for developing diverse leaders, to spark authentic conversations around supporting underrepresented employees.
09:10
Keynote: Cutting to the chase – Outlining the central issues around attracting and retaining female talent in the construction industry
​​Hear from NAWIC’s 2021 International Women’s Day Scholarship recipient Emma Hassett, who will provide an overview of her report on recruitment in the construction industry: ‘Challenging norms in recruitment for Construction: Redefining the talent pool to increase women’s representation at all levels.’
Emma Hassett, Head of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Australia and NZ, Acciona GeoTech
09:40
CEO Panel: Championing change to build a positive workplace culture
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What are leading organisations doing to champion change at an executive level?
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Identifying what championing change looks like within an organisation’s culture
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Success stories on what these organisations are doing to foster a diverse and inclusive working environment
(Moderator) Isabel Sprackman, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Infrastructure Advisory Group (IAG)
David Raftery, Country Director and Resilience Business Area Director, Arcadis Australia, Arcadis
Gillian Cagney, President – Australia & New Zealand, Worley
Bede Noonan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Acciona Australia and New Zealand
Kristy Masella, Managing Director, Aboriginal Employment Strategy Ltd
10:40
#HeForShe Sharing Session: Allies share what being an ally to female colleagues looks like to them
10:50
Morning Tea
11:20
Charity Partner Presentation – The reality of what tragedy looks like when complacency overrides what we know is safe to do.
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Shifting complacent mindset
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Give workers the courage to speak up
Patrizia Cassaniti, Found and Director, Touched by Christopher; International Safety Keynote Speaker and Advocate, Lets Talk about Safety
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BUILDING HAPPIER, HEALTHIER, & MORE DIVERSE TEAMS
11:40
Panel Discussion: Navigating the work-life balance and mental health of your team
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Adjusting the organisation of work to accommodate flexible working arrangements
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Addressing the pressure of presenteeism in the changing nature of work
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Leading with compassion and empathy to nurture mental wellness in your team
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What is work life balance vs work life integration?
Moderator: Caitriona Comerford, Executive Director People, Global, Multiplex
Liam Hayes, Chief People Officer, Aurecon
Gina Bass, Director – Inclusion, Diversity & Wellbeing, Transport for NSW
Chris Sofatzis, Executive General Manager Operations, Construction, Lendlease
12:20
Networking Lunch
1:20
Trivia
1:30
Case Study: Collaborating to drive real change
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The value of engaging with purpose driven initiatives
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How to lead inclusive change
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Creating pathways for young women
Sarah Patience, Director, Infrastructure NSW
Bandala Farrawell, Cadet, Barpa Pty Ltd
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GUIDING FUTURE LEADERS THROUGH MENTORING AND SPONSORSHIP
2:00
Mini Masterclass: The power of mentorship at all levels
​Have you ever thought of how many mentors it takes to support an elite athlete to be at their best? My guess quite a few! How many mentors do you have that support you to be at your best? Traditionally women have not been great at having mentors or asking someone to be their mentor. Mentoring is so powerful at any stage of your career and life.
In this interactive session we will explore together:
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What is mentoring and the different forms of mentoring – traditional, reverse and peer mentoring
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Why do we need a mentor at all stages of our career and life?
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Be clear on what kind of mentor could support you right now based on what is happening in your career or life.
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Watch a live demonstration of a mentoring conversation that will help clarify the focus of your current mentoring needs.
​Annette Gray, Founder and CEO, Annette Gray Consulting
3:00
Afternoon Tea
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STRENGTHENING YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS
3:20
Explanation of how Scenario-Based Roundtables work
3:30
Scenario-Based Roundtables
Delegates will participate in two sessions of their choosing. Each session will run for 30 minutes.
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Roundtable A: Cultivating a Culture of Courage in the workplace
Sarah Morse, Motivational Speaker, Sarah Morse Enterprises
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Roundtable B: Developing the art of negotiation
Amanda Bulow, Founder and Chairperson, AWIC- Awesome Women in Construction; Business Owner, Amanda Bulow Consulting
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Roundtable C: How to confidently raise your voice during difficult conversations
Kristi McLachlan, Infrastructure Director Eastern AUA, Hatch
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Roundtable D: The power of deciding for yourself
Hacia Atherton, Chief Executive Officer and Founding Director, Empowered Women in Trades
4:30
Delegate Spotlight: What are the key takeaways that you will take back to your organisation?
4:40
Chairperson’s Closing Address
4:50
End of Summit