Article: Want more women leaders in STEM? Trust girls to stumble.

Currently, women account for only 14% of the engineering workforce in Australia. Within this cohort, nearly 11% are skilled migrants and only 3% are home-grown.  

Clearly, there is work to be done to encourage more young Australian women into STEM. But according to one engineering leader, one of the most empowering things we can do for young girls is to allow them the space to stumble, problem-solve, and grow.
 
Bringing more women into the pipeline is only part of the challenge. Once in the workforce, women face hurdles when it comes to bridging the gap from high performer to leadership role. And despite years of progress, many still find themselves facing a lack of respect in overwhelmingly male environments. 

In the lead-up to the 4th annual Women in Engineering Summit 2025, Quest Events spoke with Dr Jennifer Fishburn, Director of Materials Engineering at Resmed, and Joanna Groves, CEO of inGauge Energy, to gather their insights into engineering leadership. 

How can an aspiring leader make the leap from high performer to their first leadership role in engineering?

For inGauge Energy CEO Joanna Groves, making the leap to leadership involves more than excelling in your technical work. “It's about showing initiative, curiosity and a willingness to stretch yourself. Get involved in tasks or projects that are outside your core skill set. The more you do, the more you learn – and the more you get noticed.”

Groves encourages aspiring leaders to actively build skills like influencing, listening and giving feedback. “Leadership is less about having the answers and more about your ability to bring people together and communicate clearly when making decisions.”

Fishburn is a fan of the premise that you should find opportunities to do the job you want. “Demonstrate the skills, behaviours and mindset of the role you aspire to, and recognition and opportunity will invariably follow,” she says. “When you are observed performing as a leader (by generating non-hierarchical followership, influencing and coaching others), people will notice and will reward you with a role.”  

Leadership skills that rank highly for Fishburn include:

• Contextual leadership: The ability to empower and provide opportunity for autonomy through providing the context required for good decision-making.
• Building trust and having candid conversations: "Sharing insights, including those that may be challenging to hear, really fast-tracks people’s development, builds followership when done well, and fosters accountability. Achieving this requires leaders to create a culture grounded in trust and candour."
• Critical and strategic thinking and inspiring through vision: Setting the direction, then inspiring and motivating a team around a better future.

What advice do you have for a newly promoted woman in engineering facing her first week as a manager of a team?

“Start by listening!” urges Groves. “Take the time to get to know your team; what motivates them, the challenges they’re facing, and how they like to work. You don’t need to have all the answers in your first week, but you do need to build trust, so don’t overcommit by making promises you can’t keep.”

“Most importantly, back yourself,” she adds. “You were promoted for a reason. You can be technically strong and people-focused. Own your leadership style, and lead with authenticity.”

For Fishburn, being a great leader is heavily situational. It depends on the company culture, the team you’re leading, the country you’re working in, and the specific challenges you’re facing… and it evolves over time. 

“For example,” she explains, “command and control used to be the default style in most places; it was rewarded, and got you promoted. While that style can still be the most appropriate in some situations, today’s workforce generally expects and thrives under collaborative, inspirational and servant leadership. I’ve found leadership agility and flexibility are essential, but so is staying authentic. Finding a way to strike that balance can be tough, but being willing to try is half the battle!”

“As a woman, we often face a narrower path than our male peers,” continues Fishburn. “You risk being seen as too aggressive when you take charge, or ineffective when you show empathy. Leading with strength and confidence without being labelled as arrogant or domineering, and showing care without being dismissed as soft or ineffective – it’s a constant calibration.”

“So, what would I say to someone just stepping into their first leadership role? Stay curious and open. Read, learn, and listen; especially to what resonates with decision-makers in your company. Get to know your team well, and find a way to bring your own DNA to your leadership. Be deliberate about the kind of leader you want to be in different situations. Talk about that with your team, your peers, and your leaders. Be clear about your intentions, open to feedback, and ready to adapt as you learn. Do your best to find the ‘Goldilocks path’ for your situation – and then go for it! You’ve got this.”

Why do you think an increasing number of Gen Z are “conscious unbossing,” or saying no to leadership roles?

“I don’t think Gen Z women are saying no to leadership. I think they’re saying no to leadership that doesn’t align with their values,” says Groves. “They want flexibility, balance, and purpose, and they’re brave enough to prioritise those things early in their careers. And honestly, I value those things too! I work four days a week and I’m still leading a company, driving performance and growth, but I’m doing it in a way that’s sustainable and true to my values. As leaders and organisations, we need to redesign what leadership looks like and show that it doesn't have to come at the cost of wellbeing or authenticity.”

Fishburn has a very similar view “It hasn't actually been my experience that Gen Z are saying no to leadership. However, they do seem to be choosing to lead differently; to lean in to values and purpose drivers with a focus on mental health and empathy. They also appear to be more ready to self-select for people leadership. This means only people who are purpose-driven to help and grow people are putting their hands up for those roles. Managing people well is one of the hardest, most important jobs out there, and if companies are not able to flexibly enable or embrace the kind of leadership that resonates with the new generation, and they cannot bring their authentic styles to the table, I can imagine 'unbossing' may occur.”

Fishburn also points out that people leadership is no longer the only way to advance your career or achieve financial reward. “Technical subject-matter experts or project-delivery experts who don't hold responsibility for teams are increasingly common. These alternate pathways enable each individual to play into their personal strengths or areas of interest. Traditional promotion systems, where technical brilliance is often rewarded with a team management responsibility, are not right for everyone. We need to avoid the scenario where employees are pushed into roles they’re not good at – career progression needs to enable people to shine.”

Under 18% of Australian engineering graduates are women. How can the current cohort of women leaders like yourself help attract more women to the profession?

“First and foremost, we need to be visible,” says Groves. “When women see leaders who look like them, who lead with authenticity, and who thrive without having to fit a narrow mould, it's energising. I know, because I feel that energy when I witness it too. And we need to actively mentor, support and sponsor women at all stages. That includes creating inclusive environments where they’re welcomed and supported to grow, lead and succeed.”

Fishburn agrees. “We need people to be visible in senior technical roles – to be overt and visibly impactful in the technical sphere. We need to allow other women and girls to see us, so they know they can be us. There are multiple practical ways we can help; by influencing diversity on the selection committees, candidly challenging our peers on their diversity outcomes, and calling out and rewarding overlooked talent. But if we're looking for lasting and real change, we also need to fix the pipeline. We need women breaking new ground rather than waiting for visible role models. We need to inspire women to be bold and daring even if they feel like an impostor (most of us do!).” 

Pointing to research that shows self-confidence in girls nosedives 30% between the ages of eight and fourteen, Fishburn believes there is work to be done well before young women are old enough to enter the workforce.  “I'm not a parent nor a teacher, so I don’t say this lightly (we already ask so much of them), but we need parents, teachers, and society to stop protecting girls more than they protect boys,” she urges. “We need to trust that if girls stumble or fail, they’ll get back up. If we’re always picking them up before they’ve had a chance to try, we rob them of the opportunity to build the muscles of resilience, problem-solving, and self-belief – skills that engineering demands and rewards. I believe that the more we support and encourage them in doing that, the more women we'll have flowing into the STEM workforce. We may not even need to attract them – they might just arrive!”

Have you ever faced pushback or a lack of respect in predominantly male environments, such as field crews or contractor settings? What strategies did you find effective in responding?

Fishburn says she has never experienced an overt lack of respect. “I’ve been pretty lucky (or possibly just oblivious), although I have encountered some well-meaning older gentlemen who were a bit patronising and stuck in their ways. I recommend Simon Sinek’s framework for providing feedback in this situation: talk about the behaviour, how it made you feel, and the impact it might have in the future.” 

Interestingly, Groves has experienced more pushback in office environments than in the field. 

“In the field, there was some resistance early on, but it was more about hierarchy – being a graduate engineer in a role that carried more authority than the operators – rather than gender. What made a real difference was having leaders who set the tone. My superiors made it clear that I was to be respected on site, and that created the right environment for me to grow and thrive.”

“In office settings, it’s a different dynamic. I’ve often been mistaken for being non-technical. When I establish my authority and capability, it tends to catch people off guard and shift the power dynamic. I don’t seek confrontation; in fact, it's in my nature to be respectful and kind, but I stand firm and own the space I'm in.”

Join us at the Women in Engineering Summit

Hear more from Jennifer Fishburn, Joanna Groves, and a host of other inspiring engineering leaders at the 4th annual Women in Engineering Summit 2025, 14 - 16 October at Pullman Sydney Hyde Park.