The document discusses the experiences of several female engineers working in the HVAC&R industry. It notes that while engineering has traditionally attracted more men, the reasons women choose careers in HVACR vary and can be arbitrary. Some of the women interviewed cited an interest in math and science from an early age as drawing them to engineering, while others followed more serendipitous paths. The document also discusses the challenges women have faced in what remains a male-dominated industry, such as early assumptions that they were support staff rather than engineers, but agrees the industry has become increasingly merit-based and discrimination is now less common. It acknowledges work-life balance remains a challenge for women with families but hopes to see more support on

1. Ecolibrium
THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF AIRAH MAY 2015 · VOLUME 14.4
Under
the dome
High finance in downtown Sydney. PRINT POST APPROVAL NUMBER PP352532/00001

2. ECOLIBRIUM • MAY 201526
A few of HVAC&R’s sharpest
female engineers spoke
to Ecolibriurm staff writer
Rachel Urquhart about
why women choose HVAC&R
careers, and how gender
discrimination still exists,
just not in the way we
usually think.
There’s no denying that – be it through
nature or nurture – there are certain
careers that attract more men, and those
that attract more women. Engineering,
and more specifically, the HVAC&R
industry, has long been one of the former.
But as employment-gender stereotypes
have fallen away over the years, allowing
individuals to pursue their own interests
rather than dictated traditional paths,
what is it that draws women into a male-
dominated industry such as engineering?
And given that the future’s brightest and
most valuable minds are just as likely to
be female as they are male, how should
our industry be ensuring that women are
among the HVAC&R ranks?
With the idea of token placements and
quotas being as insulting as it is outdated,
perhaps it’s worth looking into how and
why some of our industry’s women found
their way to HVAC&R. And furthermore,
what they think are the real selling
points and shortcomings of an industry
historically dominated by men.
According to statistics from Engineers
Australia, women accounted for just 16 per
cent of the 9,500 Australian engineering
graduates in 2011. Interestingly enough,
however, women tend to score higher
academic results than their male peers,
and about a quarter of female engineering
graduates receive a PhD.
Most female engineers can be found in
environmental engineering (37 per cent),
biomedical engineering (32 per cent),
and chemical engineering (26 per cent).
Mechanical engineering, along with
mining and maritime engineering, trails
behind, with single-figure percentage
participation rates.
CHOOSING HVAC&R
By the time someone is well into
a career, it’s easy to forget how it all
began. Of course, keeping an eye on
future career moves and professional
development is a higher priority than,
say, contemplating whether you chose
your career, or it chose you.
Regardless of whether they’re male or
female, some people are simply more
inclined toward a career in engineering.
The archetypes usually share a common
predilection towards maths, physics
or other sciences, and an analytical
and inquiring mind. It’s difficult to
say whether these attributes might be a
product of their environment, or just how
their brains are wired. It’s harder still to
say whether any of these tendencies have
anything to do with gender.
Engineered equality
F E A T U R E
Jenny Lewis, Affil.AIRAH, at work in the Melbourne office of WSP. Image: Rachel Urquhart.

3. ECOLIBRIUM • MAY 201528
F E A T U R E
According to studies conducted by
the Programme for International
Student Assessment (PISA), the strong
mathematical and scientific literacy
among young Australian women
generally fails to translate into advanced
and intermediate science and maths
studies, and by extension, into careers
such as engineering.
In fact, young Australian women scored
only slightly lower than young men
on the 2009 PISA mathematics test.
However, the female score was still
higher than the international average
for both genders. In science, there was
no difference between the gender scores,
with both above-average. This suggests
that it’s not a hard-wired deficiency in
maths and science that deters women
from a science-and-maths-based
career such as engineering, but perhaps
social perceptions and the learning
environment.
But on top of all of this, the reasons
for choosing an HVAC&R career can
be as arbitrary as any other occupation.
For AIRAH New South Wales division
committee member and building
services manager Renata Dobrowolska,
M.AIRAH, the path into an engineering
career was “somewhat of a fluke”.
“Back in Poland, I was always an A-grade
high school student with a passion for
history, but I equally enjoyed maths and
science,” she says. “When it actually came
to deciding which course of study to
follow at university, I literally followed a
boy that I had a crush on, who happened
to be studying mechanical engineering.”
Although Dobrowolska never crossed
paths with the object of her affection
during university, she never regretted her
decision to become an engineer.
“It turned out to be quite serendipitous,
because when I immigrated to Australia
due to political circumstances in Poland,
my Masters degree in engineering
presented more career opportunities than
a degree in Polish history ever would.”
Likewise, Edefice director and AIRAH
board member Ania Hampton’s path
into the HVAC&R industry started with
a love, albeit one of maths and science.
There’s also the possibility that Hampton
was simply born to be an engineer – after
all, it was in her genes.
“Both of my parents are mechanical
engineers,” Hampton says. “My mum
is, in fact, a retired HVAC engineer – I
think she was the second female member
of AIRAH. Some tremendous maths and
physics teachers in high school fuelled
my passion for those subjects, and I
intended to do a science degree. At the
very last minute I decided I’d rather do
something more applied, so I switched to
engineering.”
During university, a building services
subject (taught by Dr Lu Aye, F.AIRAH)
piqued Hampton’s interest. Questions
about whether there was a more
energy-efficient way to do things saw
sustainability progress from a hobby
to a career.
“I started my career as an automotive
engineer at Holden,” remembers
Hampton. “At a party I met an ESD
consultant and thought, ‘Wow, you can
get paid to do this?’”
Luckily for Hampton, the ESD
consultant’s company was after a
graduate engineer.
“It was a step backwards at the time but
one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,”
she says.
Brisbane-based Aurecon senior ESD
and mechanical engineer Jessica Holz,
M.AIRAH, and Melbourne-based WSP
Built Ecology environmental design
consultant Jenny Lewis, Affil.AIRAH,
both cite an interest and natural skill in
physics and maths as their gateway into
engineering. But for both, this interest
was compounded by the desire to do
something useful for society and the
environment, and to exercise the creative
problem solving that is integral to high-
quality engineering.
“Essentially, I fell into studying
engineering at university because I was
good at maths and physics, and I wanted
to do something useful for society,”
says Lewis. “I became increasingly
interested in environmental issues and
in particular the problem of climate
change. This motivated me to find work
in environmental consulting within the
building sector, with an understanding
Ania Hampton, M.AIRAH Jenny Lewis, Affil.AIRAH Jessica Holz, M.AIRAH
Interestingly
enough, however,
women tend to score
higher academic
results than their
male peers

4. 29MAY 2015 • ECOLIBRIUM
F E A T U R E
of HVACR being central to reducing
carbon emissions associated with the
built environment.”
As a high school student, A.G. Coombs
project engineer Katherine Hay, Affil.
AIRAH, was tossing up between science
and engineering.
“Somehow the coin fell on engineering,”
she says. “It didn’t seem like a big decision
at the time.
“I applied for quite a few positions as a
graduate, and ended up taking a role with
the company I wanted to work for the most.
They seemed to take on interesting projects
and had a relatively young and energetic
team to work with. It just happened to be
within the HVAC industry.”
A MERIT-BASED INDUSTRY
Dobrowolska has more than 30 years’
experience in the engineering and
HVACR industry, and to her eye, it is a
fair, merit-based one, albeit one that has
gone through significant changes over the
years.
“In the 1980s and 90s, Australia seemed
to me rather conservative in terms of
gender roles, and had hardly any females
in engineering,” says Dobrowolska.
“At that time I considered Europe and
my native Poland as more progressive on
that issue than Australia – for example,
my engineering course in Poland had a
ratio of 80:20 female to male students.
In those early years of my career in
Australia, I was often mistaken for
the tea lady or receptionist on a job.
“However, in the last 30 years I have
observed a significant shift in attitude
in Australia in terms of gender equality
in typically male-dominated fields. In
particular, some large companies nurture
and support female employees taking
maternity leave, without compromising
their career progression in the long term.
Nowadays females are treated as an asset
as opposed to a liability.”
When it comes down to it, Dobrowolska
strongly believes that career progression
largely depends on the ambitions and
goals of the individual, not one’s gender.
AIMING HIGH
Holz says the multidisciplinary rewards
of delivering on both general HVACR
as well as sustainability goals is a major
draw of the job. However, the business
operations, management and directorship
side of things also holds some appeal
– Holz, like many other women, can
increasingly see opportunities in
executive roles.
“A lot of women like to plan out their
careers and are quite ambitious, so
I think we could see more women moving
into senior positions in the future,”
Katherine Hay, Affil.AIRAH Renata Dobrowolska, M.AIRAH
In those early
years of my career
in Australia, I was
often mistaken
for the tea lady
or receptionist
on a job

5. ECOLIBRIUM • MAY 201530
F E A T U R E
IAPMO WM-000110
AS 5830.1
AGA 5301
AS 4617
says Holz. “There are still some issues
with gender bias, although they are not
widespread and are usually institutional
or subconscious in nature. For example,
some organisations may never have
visualised women in particular roles so
naturally promote men into these roles.
This can delay women’s progression into
senior positions, or force women to be
more aggressive in their communication
style when trying to progress their career.”
Hay says that personal choices can lead
to different career progression, but
ultimately, the opportunities are there.
“I’m sure there are companies that exist
where career progression would be made
very difficult for women but I haven’t
experienced that directly,” Hay says. “I do
admire very experienced female engineers
in senior roles – it must have been a real
challenge even a few decades ago to study
engineering and progress to a leadership
role within the field of engineering.
“There will always be some
[discrimination], but it is definitely the
minority,” she says. “Interestingly, or
more disappointingly, discrimination,
whether blatant or more subtle, seems
to come from a spread of ages. It is not
just those approaching retirement [who
are] accustomed to being in an all-male
industry.”
A DOUBLE-EDGED
SWORD
A concerted push for equality can,
however, be a double-edged sword –
quotas, token hires, and diversity-based
KPIs can all cast doubt on whether a
woman was chosen for the role because
of her skills, or her gender. According to
Hampton, women actually have a much
easier progression through the industry
thanks to this push for equality, but it is
an approach that needs to be cautiously
balanced.
“At university, we enjoyed select entry,
reduced prerequisites and exclusive
scholarships, as well as access to
mentoring and women-only lounges,”
says Hampton. “Quotas and diversity-
based KPIs for managers put female
candidates to the top of the list, and
it’s very easy to stand out as the only
woman in a field of men. If an employer
is specifically looking for a woman to
balance out a team, you can end up
competing against a very small pool
of applicants.
“The dark side of quotas and diversity-
KPIs is the implication that women aren’t
capable of landing these roles on their
own and need a leg up to compete,” says
Hampton. “Then, once you’ve got the job,
there’s the fear that it’s because of your
gender rather than your skills.
“The push for women in management
positions makes career progression that
much easier for us, which isn’t necessarily
a good thing. Having diversity in a team
and management structure has well-
documented benefits, but putting an
incompetent woman in a role for the
sake of diversity is a retrograde step.”

6. 31MAY 2015 • ECOLIBRIUM
F E A T U R E
Hampton says that in her experience,
these efforts to encourage and enable
women in engineering roles, and more
broadly, management roles, lead to them
being treated much better than men.
“I’ve experienced gender discrimination
from day one, although never against
women,” she says. “Right from university
we were given the sort of advantages that,
if given to men, would have feminists
in an uproar. Most men would kill for
the flexible working arrangements
mothers get.
“In my time I’ve never seen any
discrimination against women,
although I have seen several women
cry discrimination when pulled up
for under-performance.”
SKILLS, NOT GENDER
As with any vocation, skills, experience
and proving your worth are generally
of higher value in HVACR than other
considerations, including gender.
“Probably like most industries,
particularly those that are relatively
small, opportunities are mostly based
on who you know,” says Hay. “In my
experience, once you have worked with
people and know them, it tends to be
more about skills and ability than things
like gender.
Lewis agrees, saying she doesn’t
feel she has experienced significant
discrimination in the workplace,
but sees any doubts about a woman’s
ability to perform the work – perceived
or imagined – not as a reason to be
discouraged, but as a reason to excel.
“When I have encountered what I’ve
felt may be resistance to working with
female engineers, it has seemed to me that
this is quickly overcome once a woman
displays her technical ability,” says Lewis.
“As a woman, I sometimes feel I need to
prove myself more before people trust my
technical skills. I guess the upside is that
it’s an additional motivator to be good at
what I do.”
THE FAMILY WAY
Lewis does, however, acknowledge that
there are specific areas where women
require job flexibility or support.
“I’m wary of generalising and I don’t
claim to speak for all women in the
industry by any means,” says Lewis. “I
have certainly seen women excel in this
industry. On the other hand, it’s generally
difficult for women to maintain their
career trajectory if they have children,
and I believe this is due to a combination
of practical reasons and a lack of systems
to support working mothers.
“I don’t see this as being an issue that
is specific to the engineering industry.
However, it would be great to see the
industry address the issue in a progressive
way.”
Hampton says that this support for
women, when it comes to children and
family commitments, requires its own
kind of gender balance. In order to help

7. ECOLIBRIUM • MAY 201532
F E A T U R E
women, this support needs to be extended
to men, also.
“Women are perfectly capable of securing
senior positions on their own,” says
Hampton, “Quotas are unnecessary, but
we do need to create the social conditions
that enable them to do this.
“At a recent AIRAH convention, I had
a chat with the directors and they all
said the same thing: ‘I couldn’t do this
without my wife’. Women also need a
‘wife’: someone who can run the house,
look after the kids and put dinner on
the table while she networks and attends
committee meetings.
“Most companies now offer women
working flexible hours: from home,
part-time. Extending this same privilege
to men will enable them to support their
wives while they do valuable work in a
rewarding career. I couldn’t do my job
and be as involved with AIRAH as I am
if my husband didn’t have the flexibility
to come home early, take a day off here
or there and be ‘dad’ as much as I am
‘mum’.”
According to Engineers Australia’s 2012
statistics, just under half (49 per cent) of
the women’s engineering labour force did
not have children.
WHY WOMEN,
WHY ENGINEERING?
It seems that for many women who
find their way to engineering and to
HVACR, the groundwork was laid early.
For those who are interested in physics,
maths, and science from a young age, an
engineering career is an obvious path –
as long as they are aware of the options.
“Women don’t go into engineering
because they think it’s boring, not
because they are afraid of the men,” says
Hampton. “Our schools need to teach the
exciting, practical aspects of physics and
maths and engage girls early on. Women
are often looking for a career where they
can help others and benefit society –
engineering does exactly this and we need
to be promoting that aspect of it!
“The rise of ESD has caused a large
increase in the number of women moving
into our field; designing a refrigeration
or condenser water system can be just as
good for the world, we just need to sell it
right!
“I get a huge rush from seeing a building
and knowing that I was a part of it. I love
hearing my boys say, ‘That’s mummy’s
building’. And I hope to continue to work
on projects that I can be really proud of
and leave a lasting legacy for the next
generation.”
Hay says that at a higher, tertiary level,
the incentive to join the HVACR
industry over other engineering
disciplines is the same across gender
lines – we all want to work for companies
that value their staff and contribute to
fostering careers.
“Most graduates – male and female –
are attracted to roles and companies
which invest in employees and their
development, take on a variety of work
and trust and back their staff,” says Hay.
“If the industry is attracting good people
in general, there is bound to be a good
mix of gender.”
An additional drawcard for women
in engineering and HVACR is the
opportunity to effect change, particularly
in the sustainability sector.
“A lot of women like to see the positive
impacts of their work on the community
and environment, which is probably
why so many women are interested in
sustainability,” says Holz. “Therefore,
celebrating and marketing the positive
impacts of our industry is a very
important part of attracting more
women to engineering.
“Also, work-life balance and flexible
working conditions are becoming
increasingly important to both men
and women,” Holz continues. “Women,
however, may be more likely to seek out
employers who offer a flexible working
environment and who recognise their
contributions and accomplishments
rather than relying on ‘presenteeism’
to evaluate performance.”
But eventually, the question of selling the
HVACR industry to potential recruits –
regardless of gender – circles back to one
of its age-old shortcomings: the industry’s
lack of visibility.
“HVACR contribution to the industry
and our day-to-day lives is currently
taken for granted,” says Dobrowolska.
“In order to attract more women to this
field we need to create awareness and
promote our industry, commencing in
primary schools. We need to explain how
our industry literally keeps things cool
in order to make it a ‘cool’ career choice.
“There is definitely a larger number
of females in all engineering fields,
and many have brilliant achievements,”
she says. “Perhaps AIRAH and our
members may need to take the lead in
more active promotion of the benefits
and the uniqueness of HVACR industry
through primary and high schools to
ensure that future generations aspire
to join our field.”
WSP’s Lewis agrees with the suggestion
that AIRAH could consider a presence
in secondary schools.
“I went to an all-girls high school, and
we had a few different career professionals
come in to speak to us,” she says. “And I
remember there were doctors and lawyers
and accountants, but no engineers.
“I don’t know if that has changed
at my high school now, but I think
[engineering] would have interested me
at the time, and perhaps others, too.”
Hampton agrees that engineering and
HVACR careers could do with a little
street-cred overhaul – in order to have
young, enthusiastic students signing on,
the industry needs more recognition of
the important and at times exceptional
work it does. In short, HVACR needs to
be cooler.
“The work we do is so fundamental to
everything in modern life and yet it is
almost invisible,” says Hampton. “I’m
very excited to be joining AIRAH’s board
and on my agenda is making HVACR
the industry of choice for graduates. I
want to engage with young engineers and
students, and have the best and brightest
fighting to get into our industry.” ❚
Women also need
a ‘wife’: someone
who can run the
house . . . while
she networks
and attends
committee
meetings