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Entura’s Beth Scott to represent Tasmanian women in engineering on national committee

February 1, 2022

Entura’s Beth Scott, a civil engineer based in Hobart, has been co-opted to Engineers Australia’s National Committee for Women in Engineering (NCWiE) for 2022.

Through her inclusion on the national committee, Beth will represent and advocate for Tasmania’s aspiring, emerging and established female engineers.

“I am very excited to be part of the committee,” said Beth, “and am eager to make an impact at a local level, increasing the engagement and participation of Tasmanian women in engineering and helping build a more diverse and inclusive profession.”

“I was fortunate enough to be selected to participate in the EA Tasmania Division – Gender Equality in Engineering Project (October 2018 – October 2019), where I completed a program designed to support women in engineering as we build our careers,” she said.

“This was an incredible opportunity for me, and I am excited for the opportunity to give back to the Engineers Australia community, both by sharing the knowledge and experience gained during the course of the program, and providing my support to the women in engineering community.”

“Since graduating as a civil engineer, I’ve been passionate about encouraging and supporting other women to build strong, confident careers in this fascinating and wide-ranging profession,” said Beth.

“Women are still vastly underrepresented in the engineering workforce, and I am looking forward to being part of the changing gender dynamic of our industry,” she said.

“The future for women in engineering is very bright, both here in Tasmania with significant new infrastructure planned for the state, and across the country and the world as we accelerate the clean energy transition and progress towards greater sustainability,” said Beth.

Another strong advocate for women in engineering is Entura’s Managing Director, Tammy Chu, who was the first female president of the Tasmanian division of Engineers Australia.

“Attracting, retaining and supporting women in engineering must be a priority,” said Tammy.

“The challenges of the future will require a great number of new engineers, with maximum creativity and innovation, different ways of thinking and diverse approaches to tasks,” she said.

“If half the population are not seeing engineering as a viable or interesting career option for them, or are not adequately supported in the profession, the pool of talent and human capital is massively restricted. That’s a lost opportunity that the engineering sector simply can’t afford.”

Engineers Australia’s National Committee for Women in Engineering aims to attract, retain, support and celebrate women in engineering through the development and implementation of strategies for increasing representation and retention of female members and through continued professional development and outreach activities.

Entura is part of Hydro Tasmania, which has a strong commitment to inclusion and diversity across the business. The company supports Engineers Australia’s ‘Driving Diversity’ scholarship program, sponsoring two scholarships of $5000 each for young women entering their first year of an engineering qualification. Hydro Tasmania employees have also participated both as mentors and mentees in Engineers Australia’s ‘Gender Equality in Engineering’ project. 

Hydro Tasmania has also been involved in other programs encouraging more women and girls to pursue careers in STEM, teaming up with not-for-profit organisation Power of Engineering for a series of events for Year 9 students.