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.

1. FLORENCE MARY TAYLOR

Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW, PXA 218

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 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.

2. DOROTHY HILL

UQFL466, AL/P/12a Fryer Library, The University of Queensland

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.

3. DIANE LEMAIRE

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.

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.

4. EDITH EMILY DORNWELL

Closer to home, Edith Emily Dornwell was the first woman to graduate in Australia with a science degree, the first woman to graduate from the University of Adelaide and the first person, male or female, to graduate with a science degree at the University of Adelaide. She graduated in 1885 with first class honours in physics and physiology with high praise from the teaching staff and professors at the University.

At her graduation, Chief Justice Sir Samuel Way said, “In your distinguished undergraduate career, and in the manner in which you have taken that degree, you have not merely done honour to the University, but you have vindicated the right of your sex to compete, and to compete on equal terms, with other undergraduates for the honours and distinctions of the University.”

5. LILLIAN MOLLER GILBRETH

Lillian Moller Gilbreth was an American psychologist, industrial engineer and educator born in 1878. She was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-andmotion studies.

She graduated from the University of California in 1900, against her father’s initial reluctance for her to embark on college education. She continued her education and studies to become on of the first female engineers to earn a PhD.

She and her husband were efficiency experts who contributed to the study of industrial engineering, especially in the areas of motion study and human factors.

The 1948, movie ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ was written by two of her children about their family life and how they put into practice education and efficiency studies with 12 children, continuing from after the early death of her husband.

6. SAINT BARBARA

While doubts persist regarding the existence of Saint Barbara, many Christians believe the legendary martyr was born in the 3rd century in Lebanon. She is the patron saint of armourers, architects, artillerymen, firemen, mathematicians, miners, tunnellers, chemical engineers, prisoners and the Russian Strategic Missile Forces. Sounds like quite a motley crew to protect and assist.

The hypocrisy of having a female patron to protect miners and tunnellers is not lost on me, with my experience in the mining and tunneling industries in the early 1990s. It was a long held superstition that having a women underground in a mine or in tunnel works was considered bad luck. I remember my first day surveying on the Adelaide to Crafers tunnel, in 1998, when the question was asked why I would be working onsite, since it was bad luck.

Saint Barbara’s statue can often be seen at the entrance to tunnel worksites.

It’s hard to imagine how difficult venturing into the word of academia would have been for these women over a hundred years ago, but thankfully, they have opened doors for us today to do whatever we are passionate about.

Having worked underground in mining and tunnel projects, I found some very interesting and surprising news that I was completely unaware of. My first surveying job was underground mining in SA in 1992.

State government jurisdictions lifted their legislative bars on female employment underground in the 1980s, a process assisted by the passing of the federal Sex Discrimination Act in 1984. Until 1986, West Australian mine owners were fined if women were caught working underground. New South Wales and Queensland changed their laws in 1989.

I believe we are in an exciting era now, when women are more readily accepted in the industry and in most cases, are employed according to their abilities, experience and what they can bring to the job, and gender is no longer a factor. We need to continue to spread the word and open the eyes of young females to what they can achieve in their careers, thanks to those brave, inspirational, trail blazers from the past.

Michelle Grose Survey Manager McConnell Dowell R2P Alliance (Regency Road to Pym Street Upgrade)