Champions of Change

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Champions of Change

The Consult Australia Champions of Change group was established in 2016 with a focus on increasing the representation and influence of women in our industry. The group is committed to consistent and sustainable progress in advancing more and diverse women, creating safe, respectful and inclusive cultures, removing structural inequities, and designing systems and workplaces for a truly gender-equal future. The ambition is to achieve inclusive gender equality across our workplaces within a generation.

The Consult Australia Champions of Change has been formed with C-Suite representation from across our member firms to listen to and learn from a wide range of voices to inform practical evidence-based actions that accelerate change; to track, benchmark and measure progress; and to develop and share resources for others to adopt and adapt.

The Group now comprises 11 member CEOs leading over 20,000 employees across Australia and internationally.

Consult Australia's Champions of Change works alongside the broader national Champions of Change Coalition - a globally recognised innovative strategy for achieving gender equality, advancing more and diverse women in leadership, and building respectful and inclusive workplaces.

Track our progress

In 2023-24, the Consult Australia Champions of Change Group made strong progress in advancing gender equality and inclusion across the industry. The Group took active steps to prevent and respond to workplace sexual harassment through training and focus groups, and promoted a culture of respect by refreshing and sharing the Everyday Respect toolkit. The seventh annual Champions of Change lunch brought together leaders to engage on gender equity and inclusive leadership. Members worked to close gender pay gaps and contributed to the development of the 7 Switches for Gender Equality by Design guide. Efforts to explore intersectionality in infrastructure projects led to a deeper understanding of systemic barriers and informed more inclusive practices. The Groupen encouraged greater transparency and accountability through public reporting, improved parental leave terminology to be more inclusive, and welcomed a new member, Umwelt Managing Director Barbara Crossley.

Reports

Everyday Respect Report

In 2022 the Consult Australia Champions of Change published their ground-breaking report: Everyday Respect: It starts with understanding. It starts with us. The report providing a deeper understanding of the nature, prevalence and impact of exclusionary behaviours within member firms and across the industry. The Champions have committed to acting on the findings; reflecting on and communicating the human cost of exclusion, role-modelling the type of behaviour expected, sharing learnings across member organisations, creating psychologically safe workplaces, providing resources and skills and holding themselves to account.

VIEW REPORT

Mark McManamny

AECOM – Chief Executive – Australia and New Zealand

Throughout my career, I have seen the power and impact of diverse and inclusive teams. They innovate faster, mitigate bias, drive engagement and are a lot more fun. Meaningful change requires industry-wide collaboration - together, we can address inequity, drive lasting change and make our industry a place where each of us feel safe and supported to be who we are, develop our careers and deliver a better world for all.

Belinda Virant

Arcadis – Managing Director Australia

“I’m passionate about creating a truly inclusive, and equitable workplace where diversity is celebrated, and every individual is empowered to succeed. I’m focussed on cultivating an environment that encourages all team members to bring their authentic selves to work and steadfast in the journey to ensure our workplace reflects the rich diversity present in our society.”

Kerryn Coker (Chair)

Arup - Co-Chair

I’m a champion for change because I believe in equality. The UN Sustainable Development Goals provide a roadmap for creating safe, inclusive and resilient communities, infrastructure, and cities. It is no surprise then that two of the UN SDGs speak directly to gender equality and reducing inequalities. Achieving equality will not be easy but it is essential. I am delighted to partner with the other Champions to make the changes needed to enable women to achieve their full potential in this exciting and vital industry.

Louise Adams

Aurecon - Chief Operating Officer

As one of the very few executive female leaders in the consulting industry and as a passionate advocate for female leadership and equality within STEM, I am honoured to be a Special Advisor for the Champions of Change program. It is of fundamental importance that we lead the change necessary to create an industry where every person can achieve their full potential.

Will Wright

Douglas Partners - Managing Director

Throughout my life I have been positively influenced by strong female role models, including my wife Liz who is an environmental engineer. I recognise and value the positive contributions made from the increasing number of female engineers and scientists in Douglas Partners and I’m determined to see their footprint increase, especially in leadership, where they have so much to offer.

Dean McIntyre

GHD - Executive General Manager, Australia

I'm proud to be a Champion of Change and lend my voice and actions to achieving better outcomes for both our business and our industry though greater gender diversity and by advancing equality. As a father of three teenage sons, I want them to grow up in a respectful, inclusive society where everybody has the same opportunity to realise their career aspirations. I recognise there is still much work to do, and I'm committed to working with my peers and industry colleagues to drive meaningful change.

Kate Drews

SMEC – Regional Head Australia and New Zealand for Surbana Jurong Group

“Gender equality and inclusivity are essential to creating a safe and supportive workplace, especially in traditionally male-dominated industries like engineering and construction. I am passionate about fostering an environment where everyone, regardless of gender, can feel valued and succeed. As ANZ Regional Head for Surbana Jurong, I am pleased to champion initiatives in support of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. By sponsoring these, we not only create a fairer workplace but strengthen our ability to innovate and deliver for our clients. I am committed to removing the barriers that women and gender diverse people face in their careers. Whilst our industry has made great progress in recent years, there is still more to do to achieve equity and inclusivity.”

Ashok Sukumaran

Stantec Australia - Country Leader

Personally, I live in a gender diverse world. Unfortunately, in my profession and field of occupation, I do not work in a gender diverse industry. As a leader, I’m uniquely positioned to help effect industry change, beginning with education. Whether it be increasing the number of young females to be attracted to study in STEM subjects or increasing the awareness of unconscious bias within the Stantec business, I ardently champion programs and initiatives that equitably support women. When we harness the reflective power of gender diversity, we get better decision making, ideas and elevate communities.

Greg Kane

WSP Australia - President and Managing Director

Imagine a future where our industry is inclusive by nature, diverse by default, and fairer representation is the norm. Whilst we’ve not made the progress we should have by now, there’s an imperative to drive meaningful change in our business and industry that is a truer reflection of society. The new entrants and emerging professionals in our workforce display a fierce passion for innovating every facet of our industry. As leaders, we need to empower and enable this passion; own it and make it part of our collective legacy to create better working environments for tomorrow’s workforce to thrive. Our people expect it, our society expects it, and so to do our clients.