New Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia
Aurecon leads building services engineering for the New WCH to deliver a 100% all-electric tertiary hospital for South Australian women and children.
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Engineering and Defence are two sectors where traditionally female participation in the workforce and, consequently female leaders, are underrepresented compared to other sectors.
In late 2019, the former First Assistant Secretary-Service Delivery Division Monique Hamilton spoke to Aurecon about the challenge Defence faced with low gender diversity at senior levels in the Australian Government Department of Defence.
As a result, in 2020 Aurecon joined forces with Defence to create what is now recognised as an internationally award-winning leadership and development programme: Defence-Aurecon Ascend.
Since its launch in 2020, this transformational programme is influencing organisational and culture change within Defence through relationship building, advocacy, increasing awareness of the challenges faced by female leaders and the actions needed to address them.
Working with psychology and behavioural science company, Inkling Group, the programme aims to increase diversity at senior levels, build a visible and strong pipeline of senior women, and support high-potential women to step into more senior roles and accelerate their path to leadership.
Hear first-hand about the Defence-Aurecon Ascend Program. In this testimonial video, our participants reveal how Ascend is making a real difference in the Defence industry.
Develop a strong pipeline of female talent ready to move into more senior leadership roles
Increase the visibility and profile of high potential female talent within Aurecon and the Department of Defence
Create a cohort of high potential women with the courage and capability to setup up, drive business outcomes and lead through change and uncertainty
Build an influential and collaborative community of female role models across both organisations, who empower other female talent to step up, find their influential voice and proactively drive their careers forward
Deliver a highly impactful programme that drives excitement and desire among women in the Department of Defence and Aurecon to participate
Position both organisations as committed to investing in and empowering female talent
Build resilience and capability to confidently lead with success and fulfilment
Develop an influential voice and the ability to speak with courage, authority and ease
Increase visibility, networks and profile within their respective businesses and industry
Authentically promote themselves, their achievements and career aspirations
Ascend offers participants a developmental journey wherein they uncover and understand their strengths while acquiring tools and techniques to overcome barriers to their success and fulfilment. Ascend also aims to ensure senior leaders play a significant part in driving positive change, as research highlights their influential capacity in removing cultural and structural barriers for underrepresented groups.
A key component of Ascend is its sponsorship element, where participants are matched with senior leaders in their home organisation to engage in active sponsorship activities. This fosters advocacy, strategic acumen, and network expansion among participants.
Through its comprehensive design and collaborative approach, Ascend equips participants with the tools, knowledge, and support necessary to lead inclusively and effectively navigate their leadership journey within their respective organisations.
Overall, the Ascend Program has demonstrated several major achievements. These include a marked improvement in retention rates, a notable enhancement in diversity across leadership roles and project delivery teams, and a significant increase in female representation, both in self-nominations and participation within Defence industry award programs.
Since its launch 2020, 116 women across Australia have participated in the Ascend Program. Ascend has successfully created an environment where future female leaders collaborate, learn from each other, develop strong supportive networks, and advance the diverse thinking required to solve some of society’s toughest problems.
Ascend is a significant part of the Defence gender equality strategy and Aurecon’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion plan. Through both Defence and Aurecon’s investment in this programme, it continues to have a sustained positive impact, driving greater gender diversity in senior leadership, catalysing innovation at a broader scale, and creating a legacy with an enduring impact into the future.
The Ascend Program has received the following international and national industry awards:
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