The Roads and Maritime Services agency in New South Wales says it is championing women in IT, putting in place its own Women in IT action group as part of a move to address the lack of diversity in the sector.
The new action group is in line with the Transport for NSW Women in IT reference group, and Rob Putter, Roads and Maritime chief information officer, said, “It’s important to develop programmes and pathways for women in this industry which has previously been a typically male dominated field”.
“It’s not just about empowering women at work. It’s about empowering all colleagues and staff who are responsible for the development of women in our workforce.
“Roads and Maritime is taking this a step further and also looking at methods to support all employees in the IT sector with flexible working arrangements and removing barriers to spend time with their families.”
{loadposition peter}May Lam, Roads and Maritime director, Technology Business Management, said the IT division is also building exciting partnerships such as with DCC Jobs as an endorsed employer for women.
“The DCC Jobs platform connects women with employers who have been pre-screened to ensure they are committed to supporting women’s careers,” Lam said.
Gemma Lloyd, DCC Jobs co-chief executive and founder, explained that as an endorsed employer with DCC, Roads and Maritime met strict criteria benchmarks where considerations including paid parental leave, flexible working arrangements, pay equity and employee engagement scores were reviewed.
“It’s great to have Roads and Maritime on board as a fantastic example to both the public and private sector. We’re very excited about their commitment to shifting the dial on female participation in IT,” Lloyd said.
“Both Roads and Maritime and DCC see this partnership extending far beyond advertising jobs and employer branding initiatives – together we are going to effect change across the wider community.
“In addition to the jobs platform, DCC runs a number of initiatives to support the future pipeline of women in IT, such as Superhero Daughter Day which is a fun filled event to inspire girls aged five to 12 to get excited about pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”
Lam said the agency was committed to investing in women, especially within the IT division.