Women in Transport

A great workforce reflects the people it serves. Women make up almost half of the staff at the Department of Transport, and we're starting to see this representation increase across the transport portfolio as a whole.

We want to encourage more women to join and stay in transport through initiatives like the Women in Transport program, which offers everything from undergraduate scholarships, to mentoring for engineers, as well as quotas for rail and infrastructure apprentices. 

There's never been a better time to be a woman in transport. 

Women on the Move

We're proud to share profiles of these inspirational women who are driving change in the transport industry.

Click on the photos below to read their stories. 

Maria Mafrici, Ventura Tina Herrera, Metro Trains Jaimee Petersen, Sprayline

Lesley-Anne Thoy, Metro Trains Jess Teal, Metro Trains Arlene Fernandez, Metro Trains

Milliejoy Iberra, Metro Trains Coral Smith, Dysons Group Joanne Neville, Metro Trains

Tonia du Preez, Xtreme Freight Michelle Klein, Ventura 

 

Women in Transport program

The Women in Transport program, the first of its kind in Australia, is a package of 15 initiatives to encourage more women to enter and stay in the transport sector.

Investment in the program, which supports the Victorian Government's gender equality strategy, has grown from an initial $1.2 million to more than $3.2 million in February 2020.

The program aims to increase the number of women working in the transport portfolio from 16 per cent to 25 per cent by the end of 2020 and senior role representation in public sector agencies to 50 per cent by the end of 2020.

Since its launch in March 2017, the program has achieved a five per cent increase in the appointment of women to senior management roles in public transport operator workforces (16 to 21 per cent) and a four per cent increase of senior women in the public sector (33 to 37 per cent).

Other initiative progress includes: 

  • The rail and infrastructure industry’s Training for the Future program has set a 50 per cent quota for all starters, from apprentices to graduates, and achieved 43 per cent female participation in 2018/19. 
  • Ten postgraduate scholarships awarded in transport-related fields to a value of $300,000
  • Twenty-one undergraduate scholarships awarded to young, disadvantaged women to study in a transport-related field to a value of $630,000
  • Fourteen of the 18 scholars studying for PhDs in transport-related fields as part of a joint program run by the Department and Monash University are women
  • Mentoring program for women engineers involved 116 participants. The program was extended in 2019 to incorporate women from across the transport sector. 533 participants (256 pairs) participated in the program in 2019. An additional 286 participants (155 mentor/mentee pairs) will participate in the program in 2020. This program is attracting a broader range of employers, including operators, commercial partners and public sector agencies. 
  • Developing a transport diversity and inclusion strategy.

Two events have been planned by DoT to run in 2020. Due to COVID-19, these events are being held online:

  • Women in Transport Victoria Network Launch was held in June 2020.  This was a panel discussion with the theme: “Changing the narrative for an inclusive transport network. -  Understanding the impact of gender inequality to the whole community”.  Over 500 people from across the transport sector participated.
  • Women in Transport Safety event designed to promote safety research and highlight next steps about safety on the transport network.

Boards that have already met or exceeded the 50 per cent target for senior female leadership include:

  • Commercial Passenger Vehicle Commission (100 per cent)
  • Port of Hastings (67 per cent)
  • Public Transport Access Committee (64 per cent)
  • Gippsland Ports (60 per cent)
  • Victorian Ports Corporation (Melbourne), V/Line and Victorian Rail Track (all 50 per cent).

Visit the Women Victoria website for more Victorian Government gender equality information.

For more information, contact the WiT program manager.

Careers in transport

Interested in a career in transport? Visit the following pages to learn more about opportunities in this portfolio.

Public sector agencies:
Department of Transport
Commercial Passenger Vehicle Authority
Major Transport Infrastructure Authority 
Major Roads Transport
Level Crossing Removal Project
North East Link Project
Major Rail Projects
West Gate Tunnel Authority

Operators:
Metro Trains
Yarra Trams
Transdev
CDC Bus
Dyson
Ventura Bus