On Thursday 3rd October, over 100 civil construction professionals gathered together at the CCF Women in Civil ‘Creating Capability & Capacity’ Brunch, hosted at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, Melbourne.

MC’d by CCF’s Sonya Casey and John Kilgour, the event comprised presentations from special guest speakers, including;

  • Alison Wall – Manager, Industry Capability and Development at Major Road Projects Victoria
  • Helen Christo – General Manager Human Resources at Rokon Pty Ltd
  • Laurice Temple – Managing Director of the Ripple Affect Institute
  • Kirsten Campbell – Chief Operating Officer at JobsBank
  • Suzanne Hewitt – Social Inclusion Advisor at John Holland

The event addressed the question “What does a diverse workforce look like?

Workforce diversity means creating an inclusive environment that accepts each employee’s differences and embraces their strengths. The culture of the workplace provides opportunities for all employees to achieve their full potential. Valuing difference provides each employee permission to contribute their unique experiences to the workplace and team.

An employer that acknowledges the similarities and differences amongst employees, in terms of age, cultural background, physical abilities and disabilities, race, religion and gender, can be described as a workplace that engages a diverse workforce.

Round-table Workshop

Following their presentations, the guest speakers each raised a key question, facilitating active participant group discussion, in a round-table workshop format.

The outcomes and findings of these valued discussions will be collated and used to produce a Position Paper which CCF Victoria will use to create awareness and promote changes within the industry. This Position Paper will be released within the coming weeks. A notification will be released via our CCF Connect eNewsletter accordingly.

For more information on this topic, email Sonya Casey scasey@ccfvic.com.au