The Australasian Railway Association has established the Champions of Change Rail Group to advance gender equality in the rail industry.
The group comprises of 10 CEOs and senior executives of rail organisations that, collectively, employ 32,000 people.
Companies included in the group are the ARA, Australian Rail Track Corporation, Bowen Rail, Downer, Hitachi Rail Australia, Keolis Downer, National Transport Commission, Transdev, Sydney Trains and Queensland Rail.
The formation of the group has come as part of a key recommendation from a recent joint report with National Women in Transport.
ARA CEO Caroline Wilkie says the formation of the group is the first step in creating a more gender diverse and equal rail industry.
“The Champions of Change Rail Group is part of a national effort to achieve inclusive gender equality in rail within one generation,” Wilkie says.
“Increasing female participation in rail plays a vital role in ensuring a strong, sustainable industry for the future and drives performance innovations and better solutions.
“Improving gender diversity in the Australasian rail workforce is a key priority for the ARA. Through initiatives such as the Champions of Change Rail Group, our leadership scholarships, diversity training and Women in Rail Mentoring Program, we are supporting the development of women leaders at every level and enabling more women to pursue careers in rail.”
The group includes:
- Caroline Wilkie, CEO, ARA
- Kat Stapleton, CEO, Queensland Rail
- Michael Hopkins, CEO, NTC
- Wayne Johnson, CEO and Managing Director, ARTC
- Matthew Longland, CE, Sydney Trains
- Brendan Lane, General Manager, Bowen Rail Company
- Brian Brennan, CEO, Transdev Australasia
- Julien Dehornoy, CEO, Keolis Downer
- Sarfaraz Samnakay, Managing Director and Country Director, Hitachi Rail Australia
- Stephen Kakavas, COO Rail and Transit Systems, Downer Group
Recent data shows female participation in the rail workforce has increased from 24 per cent in 2020-2021 to 28 per cent in 2022-23.
The Gender Diversity Data Report 2024, which was sent to roughly 220 rail organisations from April 2022 to April 2023, showed 26 per cent of CEOs in rail were female in 2022-2023, up from 16 per cent in 2020-2021.
For more information on the Champions of Change Rail Group click here.
Read more ATN:
Cummins’ North American falter offset by international strength
Transport support given to BlazeAid
ATN Executive Profiles: C.H. Robinson’s Andrew Coldrey