Nearmap is an Australian aerial imagery technology and location data company with more than 200 employees.“When we saw the need for growth about 18 months ago we started looking at ways that we could attract more females into traditionally male-dominated tech and engineering roles,” says the company’s executive vice- president, people and culture, Sue Steel. “Even though the situation is evolving, the tech and engineering industry remains a male-dominated environment. We can see that by the sheer number of female candidates for an engineer or tech position. It’s usually quite low compared to male candidates.”One of the many initiatives the company put in place was to partner with recruitment firms specialising in female STEM positions. Other efforts include attending female networking events such as Product Women, offering 12 weeks paid parental leave, posting positions on female job websites, and partnering with universities to channel in the right candidates. Nearmap’s board is 17 per cent female, the executive team 13 per cent, and 24 per cent of managers across the business are female. The company’s management roles in tech fields — engineering and data science to product management and survey operations — are now 30 per cent women as a result of the initiatives put in place striving for equal representation.The achievements of both Microsoft and Nearmap are significant, but, as both companies acknowledge, it will take time to overcome the challenges. Evans-Galea says a similar picture still exists in the broader workforce outside of STEM fields, with few women founders and only 12 women CEOs leading ASX-200 companies.
