GWE is delighted to get behind the Diversity Agenda, an industry-wide campaign that is galvanising scores of Kiwi companies around a primary, common goal: 20 percent more women engineers and architects by 2021. The campaign will address critical issues like retaining and promoting women to leadership roles and ensuring pay equity.
The Diversity Agenda is a collaboration between Engineering New Zealand, the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) and the Association of Consulting Engineers (ACENZ). GWE is one of nearly 100 organisations that have joined as members and signatories to The Accord.
GWE’s Director – New Zealand, Gareth Williams says “it’s vitally important for business leaders to collectively commit to this industry-wide campaign for change.
There are so many good reasons to support the campaign. We want a more gender-balanced workforce and greater gender, cultural and ethnic diversity improves our understanding of our society. Not only is it the right thing to do, it just makes good business sense. Research shows us that companies with more women are 15% more likely to financially outperform in their industry, and companies with women on their boards are 26% more profitable than those with all-male boards, figures like that should be a wake-up call for us all.
I’m proud that at GWE, we already have a higher proportion of women in our workforce than the industry average. The challenge for us going forward is to support these to women achieve their career goals and their transition into leadership roles in the company.”
The Diversity Agenda works by getting organisations to commit to adopting more inclusive practices. It’s backed up by a hard-hitting social media campaign featuring the stories of women working in architecture and engineering.
Learn more about the Diversity Agenda and how you can influence change here: www.diversityagenda.org