MEET THE WOMEN LEADING AUSTRALIA’S RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSITION

Happy International Women’s Day!

On 8 March each year, International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of the amazing women in our families, communities and societies. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘break the bias’.

Historically speaking, science, energy and innovation have been seen as spaces for men. But at WWF-Australia, we’re lucky to work with many incredible women who are breaking the bias every day in their work to help Australia become a Renewable Energy Export Superpower.

From creating the world’s first solar energy sharing device to paving the way for change in our construction industries, meet the women who are leading Australia’s renewable energy transition and creating a cleaner, greener future for us all.

Hillary (Hilly) Montague

Hilly is a climate justice advocate who works for WWF-Australia on the Renewables Nation campaign, an ambitious program to make Australia a Renewable Energy Export Superpower.

What makes you excited about accelerating Australia’s renewable energy transition?

What excites me most about my work is that we think big about what renewables can deliver. We want to make sure all of Australia can be powered with renewable energy and sell our extra energy to our neighbours, meaning we can more rapidly decarbonise Australia and help the region decarbonise faster too. We’re advocating for products we sell at home and abroad to be powered by renewables (I’m particularly excited about renewable manufacturing – like green steel or green zinc), which has massive opportunities for regional Australia.

For too long, I believe Australia hasn’t been pulling its weight on climate action. Still, by embracing our renewable export potential – we can go from a climate laggard to a leader and punch way above our weight in the global fight to prevent catastrophic climate change.

Have you ever experienced gender bias in your career?

I’ve definitely experienced a bias against me because of my gender and age in certain spaces. The most challenging experiences have been with male politicians who are condescending and patronising despite my years of professional experience and working in the communities they directly represent. I knew this was my best chance of influencing some of the people best placed to drive coordinated climate action, which would affect my life and younger generations and communities on the front lines of climate change. So in those situations, I would remind myself that actually, I did know what I was talking about, I should be heard and I had an obligation to myself and others to do everything I could in those moments to be listened to.

However, I’m lucky that the majority of workspaces I’m in have a strong female representation for the most part. I love working with such incredible and smart women and feel that we all bring out the best of each other because we make space for each other to speak up and be heard while feeling supported and having a laugh.

What are your hopes for the future of women and girls in your industry?

I’m particularly passionate about young women championing climate solutions like renewable energy. I hope that women in climate advocacy will take a holistic and justice-oriented approach to everything they do and work to ensure that everyone benefits from renewable energy. The people who are first and worst impacted by climate change are those who have contributed to it the least, and prioritising those communities in everything we do is essential. This could look like acting to prioritise communities, and particularly Indigenous communities, to have a meaningful say in energy projects on their land or near their communities, or working to ensure everyone can access solar energy – not just those who can afford it on their rooftop.

What advice do you have for women and girls wanting to take up a career in science, innovation or tech?

Remember that not only do you deserve to be in this space, but this space needs people like you – and particularly your insights and perspectives – to unlock the full potential of what’s possible.

I would also say to make sure that once you’re in the room, work to keep the door open for other women (and queer-identifying people) and support one another – you’ll be stronger together.

Ruby Heard

Ruby is an electrical engineer and director of Alinga Energy Consulting, a socially conscious consulting firm delivering energy feasibility studies and system design. Her work (and PhD) focuses on improving energy access and affordability for First Nations Peoples. 

How are you accelerating Australia’s renewable energy transition?

Renewable energy is key to achieving energy justice. so I’m looking at how we can remove barriers to increased penetration in Indigenous communities. I also sit on the First Nations Clean Energy Network steering committee, a new force empowering and enabling communities to get involved in the clean energy transition.

Have you ever experienced gender bias in your career?

For most of my career, I worked for a large multinational consulting firm with 37% female staff (and that’s an above-average gender balance). My colleagues were outstanding, highly educated professionals from diverse backgrounds. But yes, there was gender bias. I’ve received inappropriate comments from co-workers, suppliers and external collaborators. I’ve been told that the way I express myself isn’t suitable for the office including the way I dress, using too many colours in reports, using too much emotive language in reports, putting a smiley face in an email to an architect (she sent one back, by the way!). 

We cannot ask for women to come into roles and then expect them to conform to the conventional male-dominated culture and ways of thinking. It causes inner conflict to have to constantly battle your own nature to be accepted. I suppose it’s part of the reason I now work for myself. 

What are your hopes for the future of women and girls in your industry?

I hope that women can be accepted and celebrated for exactly how they are. That they can hold onto their femininity and all the wonderful qualities that come with it in any career they choose.

What advice do you have for women and girls wanting to take up a career in science, innovation or tech?

Know that there are absolutely no reasons why you can’t have your dream career in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field. Yes, you’ll face some hurdles that your male counterparts won’t ever have to deal with, but they won’t stop you unless you let them.

Monica Richter

Monica has been a climate action advocate for over 20 years and has proudly worked at WWF-Australia for seven of those years across the climate, energy and food and security teams.

How are you accelerating Australia’s renewable energy transition?

As a Project Director for the Business Renewables Centre, Australia, and a Project Director for the Materials and Embodied Carbon Leaders’ Alliance (MECLA), I support companies and councils to achieve ambitious decarbonisation targets by procuring large-scale renewables, setting science-based targets, and supporting industry to procure low carbon materials for the building and construction sectors.

Have you ever experienced gender bias in your career?

My worst experience has been with federal parliamentarians. There have been at least two serious incidents a number of years ago where parliamentarians have been rude, condescending and demeaning to me as both a policy advocate for an NGO, as well as a female. 

The industry people who observed this have been appalled.

What are your hopes for the future of women and girls in your industry?

I’m keen to see greater diversity in the industry, as well as investment in skills support and development. 

Diversity brings different views and experiences and having more young women encouraged to join the clean industry revolution will make a big difference to whether we can successfully achieve a climate-safe future.

What advice do you have for women and girls wanting to take up a career in science, innovation or tech?

There’s a shortage of qualified and experienced professionals who are a part of the clean industry revolution. The science, innovation and tech sectors are fun to be a part of and create opportunities to be a part of a positive story.

Kristy Battista

Kristy is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Allume Energy Global and General Manager of Allume Energy Australia. 

How are you accelerating Australia’s renewable energy transition?

At Allume I have the inspiring opportunity to combine my passion for creating inclusive teams with my expertise to solve problems that matter.

Allume’s vision is a world where everyone can access clean and affordable energy from the sun. Specifically, we’ve developed the SolShare: a world-first technology for sharing rooftop solar in multi-dwelling buildings.

Have you ever experienced gender bias in your career?

I have. But in most cases, I believe it was not deliberate, but rather unconscious, which can be harder to deal with because it means it’s systemic or part of a broader system.

One story I will share is my own bias. When I was approached for the CTO role at Allume I resisted for quite some time. Upon deep reflection, I realised that resistance had occurred because in my career to date I hadn’t seen any examples of CTOs that looked like me or behaved like me. 

In an empowering moment, I realised I could do it my own way, a unique way. And now, three years on, my way is having amazing results for Allume and is a fantastic platform to inspire the change I’d like to see in the world.

What are your hopes for the future of women and girls in your industry?

That all women and girls can fulfil their potential; thriving rather than surviving. I hope they can put their energy towards being their best and solving problems that matter, rather than trying to succeed despite their environment and not because of it. 

There is a multitude of significant problems that require solving in the world, and we need as many diverse, unique perspectives as we can get!

What advice do you have for women and girls wanting to take up a career in science, innovation or tech?

Go for it! See the opportunities rather than the hurdles. A career in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) can be super fulfilling and impactful to society. 

I believe most of the bias you’re likely to experience is not deliberate but rather unconscious. It may be pressure to act a certain way or embody a particular persona to fit into the environment. What I wish someone had said to my younger self is “have the courage to be uniquely you, bring all of you to the table, because that is where your true power lies”.

Marija Petkovic

Marija is the Founder and Managing Director of Energy Synapse, a company whose mission is to help drive the transition to clean energy by giving organisations the data and insights they need to make informed decisions. Marija believes data is key to empowering greater investment in clean energy.   

How is your organisation accelerating Australia’s renewable energy transition?

Australia’s energy system is undergoing the biggest transformation in its history, which is creating a once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity. However, wholesale electricity markets can be incredibly complex and as a result, some large-scale clean energy assets end up being more than three times as valuable as others. This complexity and large spread in performance can act as a barrier to investment. 

The Energy Synapse platform makes it easy to understand the opportunities and risks of large-scale clean energy projects and gives businesses the confidence to know they’re investing in top opportunities.

Have you ever experienced gender bias in your career?

Unconscious bias is deeply ingrained in our society and the energy industry is no exception. For example, people have assumed that I’m a personal assistant for my male employees or have been bewildered to find out that Energy Synapse is my business and then ask whether I have a husband helping me. 

I think a common theme for many women is that we’re continuously having to prove ourselves, regardless of our track record of achievements, whereas men are assumed to be competent by default.

It’s really important for women to know their worth, back themselves, and call out gender bias when it occurs. It’s also important for other women and male allies to stand up and support these women.

What are your hopes for the future of women and girls in your industry?

Women have proven that they can be extraordinary leaders in times of transformational change – a perfect fit for the energy industry! Women also make up 50% of the population. I would love to see women not only representing equal numbers in our industry but also having the same recognition and visibility as their male peers. This means having an equal representation in leadership positions, receiving equal financial backing for their start-ups, and being equally represented in speaking and media opportunities. 

Anything less than a 50/50 split means that there are factors beyond ‘merit’ at play!

What advice do you have for women and girls wanting to take up a career in science, innovation or tech?

Follow your passion and believe in yourself. When looking for an organisation to work for, you know you’ve found a winner when that organisation already has plenty of women in visible leadership positions. It’s highly likely that you’ll have many more opportunities to develop your skills and advance your career in this kind of team compared with another where you are a diversity experiment!