WOMEN IN CIVIL
Paving the Way for Women in Civil and Construction
There is a lot of promotion nowadays of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects for girls in school, college and university, so I set out to introduce myself to a few of the little known, yet inspirational and determined women of the past who opened up a world of opportunity and career paths for us in the 21st century. While there is little documented about the women who get down and dirty and do the hard laboring tasks of today, I found a few interesting women who worked hard, studied hard and pushed the boundaries in eras when women were expected to stay at home, marry, have children, maintain the family home and serve their families. Some of these ladies were ‘firsts’ in their fields and most excelled so far as to be the best in their chosen fields, gaining respect from their colleagues and accolades for their achievements.
in architecture in 1904. Florence overcame much opposition to her ambitions before being admitted as a full member to the NSW Institute of Architects. She is credited with contributing to commercial architectural design in Sydney and won prizes for some of her designs for kitchens, houses and cottages in the early 1900s.
3. DIANE LEMAIRE
2. DOROTHY HILL UQFL466, AL/P/12a Fryer Library, The University of Queensland
1. FLORENCE MARY TAYLOR Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW, PXA 218
In 1944, Melbourne woman Diane Lemaire completed her degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Melbourne as the first female engineering graduate. She saw herself as an equal and worked to that extent as well. She never saw her gender as an obstacle. Diane went on to have a successful career in aeronautical engineering.
Turning the clock back more than a hundred years, a lady called Florence Mary Taylor migrated from England to Sydney when she was a child and went on to become the first qualified female architect and the first women to train as an engineer in Australia. After seeing her draftspeople work colleagues earning more respect than her while employed as a clerk in an architectural practice, she enrolled in night classes at the Sydney Technical College to become the first women to complete final year studies
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Dorothy Hill was an active young lady living in Brisbane in the 1920s, when she decided to study science, in particular chemistry, with geology as an elective. She graduated in 1928 with a First Class Honours degree in Geology and the University of Queensland’s Gold Medal for Outstanding Merit. She was the first female graduate from the University of Queensland and continued on to get her PhD from the University of Cambridge. Dorothy made significant contributions to Australian earth science and was a pivotal role model in opening up a whole world of education to women.
Some of these ladies were ‘firsts’ in their fields and most excelled so far as to be the best in their chosen fields, gaining respect from their colleagues and accolades for their achievements.
