Catherine Woodward, with a ‘thank you’ gift from BSE for sharing her wonderful experience.
International Women in Engineering Day 2022 is upon us. This day is an opportunity to showcase, celebrate and spread awareness of the phenomenal work women in engineering do.
This year’s INWED22 theme is ‘Inventors and Innovators’, the intention is to profile the very best, brightest and bravest women in engineering.
BSE are incredibly fortunate to have a team member who has spent the past forty years working within the engineering industry. Catherine Woodward, a senior electrical engineer located in BSE’s Canberra office has kindly offered up some of her time to share her experiences as a female in the engineering industry, observing the changes, innovation and evolution.
Every few months, BSE’s National Finance Manager, Nicki Fraser organises a ‘Women of BSE’ coffee and chat, in recognition of the day, Nicki interviewed Catherine and asked BSE’s female team members to send in questions. These range from her experience as a woman in the industry and how that’s looked over the past 40 years, through to the change and innovation she’s seen in sustainability, technology and the way project delivery has evolved. Catherine was also asked to share her experience as a mother, and how she has navigated raising her sons, whilst also maintaining a firm footing in her career.
Catherine shared her unique experiences, laughing about how thankful she is for technology and not having to use whiteout anymore but also appreciating how much the use of technology has changed the way engineers’ do their job, she expressed some of the challenges associated with being one of very few female engineers. She also shared her immense excitement when first coming across another female engineer in the property industry, laughing that she ‘didn’t know how to behave’ as she was ‘full of nervous energy’.
It was a wonderful experience, listening to Catherine share the highlights and lowlights of her career, the challenges she’s experienced, the remarkable joys and career wins she’s had. We’re incredibly privileged to have heard from Catherine, to gain some perspective, hearing of the inventions and innovation the past 40 years has delivered to her, and the industry.
Thank you to Catherine for sharing her career, and to Nicki for facilitating this interesting conversation. As a nod to the theme of INWED22, Catherine has been a part of the solution, and has helped developed a brighter future for the younger and emerging women in engineering today.
INWED22: https://www.inwed.org.uk/
