August 2025
Building a fairer industry
“Overt, deliberate and vocal leadership” will build a fairer, more gender equal construction industry, says WSP’s Greg Kane, incoming Chair of the Consult Australia Champions of Change Group."
After nearly three decades in consulting engineering, WSP Australia’s President and Managing Director has never had a female boss. This honest reflection points to the pragmatic work ahead.
“I’ve worked for good companies over my career,” Greg reflects. “Responsible industry participants. But it’s obvious that, as an industry, we haven’t done enough to get enough women into senior ranks.”
As the new Chair of the Champions of Change Group, and leader of a 5,000-strong team across 14 offices, Greg is focused on contributing to measurable structural change – tackling the gender pay gap, lifting senior female leadership levels, and embedding safety and respect into every workplace.
“Everyone is on a journey. No one has all the answers. It’s about participating and learning together.”
The numbers that matter
The Champions of Change Coalition, founded by former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick AO in 2010, began with a simple idea: when men in power take responsibility for change, more women will rise. What started as a male-led initiative, has since broadened to include senior female leaders and a range of industry sub-groups.
The Consult Australia Champions of Change Group, established in 2016, brings together 11 CEOs who collectively employ 20,000-plus people in design, advisory and engineering services businesses. The Group’s 2024 progress report reveals some significant headway. Women now hold 36.2% of all positions, up two percentage points in a year.
Gender pay gap data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows 56% of employers, economy-wide, made progress in 2024. WSP reduced its gap from 26.6% to 24.7% – a modest but meaningful shift that shows how the tectonic plates are starting to move.
The Champions of Change’s economy-wide National Workplace Gender Equality Tracker also shows clear gains, with Australia ranking 13th out of 148 countries in the WEF Global Gender Gap Report.
“As a nation we may think we’re well placed, but not many races cheer for 13th place,” Greg says. “As leaders, we need to be very overt, deliberate and vocal about our commitment to gender equality. Otherwise, it slips down the priority list.”
Holding the middle
Vocal leadership matters, especially in an increasingly polarised global debate where diversity and inclusion efforts face growing resistance.
“Driving structural change always means leaning into headwinds,” Greg notes.
“But gender diversity just makes good business sense. I’m a big believer in the power of fairness. When people feel they’re operating in a fair environment, they give more. They bring their best. That’s how you unlock and build a high-performing organisation.”
One of the biggest challenges – and an area of focus for the Consult Australia Champions of Change Group – is retaining and advancing mid-career women.
“That’s where we see the sharpest drop-off in talent retention. Family dynamics kick in and people need more flexibility. But it’s also when women are highly skilled, experienced and mobile. They have choice. They move to other sectors – technology, government, other professional services – and we lose those skills, perhaps forever.”
The Group is working on solutions to retain mid-career female talent, including clear career development pathways, flexibility at senior levels, and workplace cultures that actively support women to stay.
Changing the culture together
Research commissioned by the Culture in Construction Taskforce shows that better gender balance on construction sites can address entrenched issues – low productivity, poor mental health and high attrition – and deliver economy savings of up to $8 billion annually.
“I’ve worked on sites with more women, and the difference is discernible. The tone, the language, the behaviour, the safety, even how the site is organised… It’s just a better place to work.”
If culture is observable and measurable, it’s also changeable when everyone pulls in the same direction. “We need whole-of-industry alignment with consultants, clients, contractors, subcontractors, and the community.”
Asked what advice he’d offer to young women entering the industry, Greg pauses.
“My thought is this: Don’t work for companies that don’t take diversity seriously. You have agency. You’re in demand. You have choice. Choose a company that’s walking the talk. And if enough people do that, the industry will change faster.”
Find out more about the Consult Australia Champions of Change Group.