GMC is delighted to have been awarded a $75,000 grant from the Federal Government’s Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship Program. This means that the Women in Manufacturing Network launched in 2016 can continue to work to achieving its vision of increased participation of women in manufacturing and engineering in the region.
In 2016 we saw:
- WIMN Launch event in March featuring a panel discussion with high profile women in manufacturing and engineering: Deb Cailes, VP Manufacturing and Supply as IDT Australia, Jo Staines, GM Business Operations at Boeing Aerostructures and Leonie Walsh, Lead Scientist MC’d by Madeleine McManus, Director of External Engagement, Monash University
- A male change agent event at the June GMC Member meeting with Rodin Genoff, expert on innovation and industry cluster development and sustainability. Rodin shared the keys to more competitive innovative organisations of Creativity, Openness, Diversity and Equity from his most recent book, New Women, New Men, New Economy co-authored with Narelle Hooper.
- A Professional and Personal Development Seminar opened with a keynote by Narelle Hooper, journalist, director and former editor of BOSS magazine. Narelle facilitated discussion of the issues facing women in manufacturing and engineering and participants uncovered some simple strategies that can be adopted to start increasing organisational diversity, innovation capacity and ultimately the company’s long term success. The event also featured a workshop session on resilience by Craig Biddiscombe, and on career planning by Maree Herath.
- A growing number of both men and women keen to get involved in this network
In 2017 we are in a strong position to build on the success of the 2016 program. We’ll be hosting networking events featuring keynote speakers, mentoring programs and professional and personal development career based seminars.
We encourage you to get involved! This network is not just for women – it’s about creating a community of like minded people who want to see their businesses change, to increase diversity in the workplace, and to achieve better results.
WIMN will promote, support and encourage participation of women in manufacturing and engineering roles in order to increase participation rates of women across these sectors in the Geelong Region by:
- Raising awareness of the benefits of careers in manufacturing and engineering for young women
- Creating a vibrant support network (of men and women) for women who have selected careers in manufacturing and engineering
- Providing information to support career progression and skills development
- Developing a community supportive of the vision and mission of GMC – WIMN
To get involved and be informed of upcoming events and the program, or if you have suggestions for the 2017 program, please email Jenny Perks [email protected]