Woman of the Future

Speech for International Women's Day - March 8th 2009

Chanelle Harvey

(Rockhampton Queensland)

Good morning ladies....and gentlemen.

I stand before you today as an Electrical Engineer - as a woman who votes, who drives herself around, who supports herself financially, who has hopes and dreams that I know I can achieve. I am able to be all that I am not because of luck or chance - but because of the women of the world, who over a hundred years ago decided they wanted something better, something more, something beyond what was dictated by society of the time. I am who I am because someone somewhere decided to stand up and be counted.

Today we celebrate 150 years of Queensland Women - and indeed women in general, whose strength, courage and determination have created the freedoms we women currently enjoy. I dare say many women my age take some of these freedoms for granted. We are fortunate enough to have grown up in a world where our vote counts, our opinion is heard and we are respected. However, it was not always this way. Today we celebrate those women who helped make that happen.

I am extremely honoured to have been asked to speak as a woman of the future. As an Electrical Engineer, I am all too familiar with the importance of standing up for equality. It was not that long ago that there was no such thing as a female engineer but today, slowly but surely, the number of female engineers has risen to about 10%. I was one of only six females to graduate from engineering so I know what it is like to be outnumbered and I am proud to say my male contemporaries treated me with as much respect as they did each other - most of them became my best friends and still are today.

I have been very fortunate in both my life and my career. I was well supported financially through university after first year, in which I received both a bursary from CQU for being acknowledged for my potential as an engineer, and also a scholarship from a coal mining company for tens of thousands of dollars. I put my heart and soul into my degree and did my absolute best - which is why I was so honoured in 2007 to receive both the David McPherson memorial trophy for the highest achieving engineering student at CQU and the Engineers Australia Queensland electrical branch medal. The toughest challenge of my degree, by far however, was my final year thesis. This was my baby and the reason I went from socialite to hermit for 6 months. I did a very exciting thesis for Ergon Energy using alternative technologies and I am so grateful they took my thesis seriously and have started to implement it. This thesis allowed me to top Queensland in an Engineers Australia and IET competition and I am soon to compete at the South Pacific final. I am extremely fortunate that this competition will allow me to not only raise the profile of female engineers, but also educate the power industry on alternative ways to support network load growth.

 I have had many exciting adventures as an engineer and it has so far taken me all over the world - from working on massive pieces of coal mining equipment in Mackay, to working in an alumina refinery in Gladstone, to generating and supplying people's electricity here in CQ - to being chosen to live in England and designing street lighting for the M6. I have gotten dirty, muddy and sweaty, climbed enormous structures and sometimes feared for my safety. But it's all part of the job and I am so glad that I am able to do it as a female. At the same time, I am constantly trying to break the misconception that you can't do a man's job and stay feminine and stylish. I love my heels, skirts, jewellery and makeup. I love to have nice hair and smell nice - which doesn't mean I don't get dirty when I need to - but it means I can stay the woman I am in the job I want. I think it is very important that in our quest for equality, we don't lose our own sense of femininity.

I like electrical engineering because it's always evolving, always changing and developing. Current technologies become old and as new technologies prove themselves, with them slowly emerges new ways of thinking and doing things. I like to think of the evolution of women in the same way. We are evolving, proving our validity and directing society. In the same way that the IPod is not the same as the grammar phone - we are not the same as our grandmothers and great-grandmothers.

I am often asked for my advice for my female contemporaries. The reality is, at 22 years old I don't have a lifetime's worth of experience and advice. But, what I can give you is a piece of advice my mother instilled in me when I was very young: "You can do absolutely anything you want to do, if you want it enough, work hard enough and put your mind to it. Nothing is impossible." This piece of advice is the most inspirational I have ever received because it is absolutely true. If you want something - and I mean really want it - then you can achieve it. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something; that you are not good enough, smart enough, strong enough. The only person who ultimately decides your success is you. The women of the past didn't take no for an answer, they didn't let a world of oppression stop them from obtaining the freedoms they wanted. These women are the perfect example of this advice.

Like all women, I have dreams for my future. I want to progress with my career and increase the awareness of alternative technologies to better manage electricity use and reduce the impacts of electrical systems on the climate and environment. I have already completed an engineering thesis on this topic and demonstrated that it can be done. I have been recognised for this work and it is being implemented in a trial area - but I hope that one day all electricity distributors will use this technology. I have committed to a life of continual learning: I wish to further my education to allow me to better influence the world around me. I want to be able to balance work with a family and one day be a good mother and wife as well as a good engineer. I want to contribute to society in a positive and empowering way by being involved in organisations that further the equality of women and help the community. But most importantly, I want to have fun! I want to travel more of the world and visit hidden towns and villages. I want to do all of the 67 items on my "things to do before I die" list - which includes (hosting an elaborate dinner party, climbing Mt Jim Crowe and writing a book on the crazy antics of my engineering friends). But, above all else, I want to leave this world knowing I helped make it a better place than it was when I entered it.

As one would expect, I have come across the nay-sayers - the people who say you can't, that you belong at home, or that you should play down your intelligence because they can't tolerate smart women. But, fortunately for me, in this day and age, these instances have been few and far between. My engineering contemporaries, most of my lecturers and my current place of work have all been very supportive. I have been treated just as any other guy in the profession - and that is all I ask for. Sure, I feel I have to prove myself that little bit more, but I believe that the most essential part of ensuring you are treated with equality is your attitude. We can't control the past, we can't control the actions of others, we can't stop time - but what we can control however is our own attitude to the world around us. I believe that life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent how I react to it. If you have the attitude of a victim, you will be a victim. If you have the attitude of a hero, you can save the world. It is the attitude of the women of today and tomorrow that will determine the course of history for the next generations. The attitudes we have and the behaviour we accept determine who we will be.

I truly believe the world is our oyster for the women of the future. There is no limit to what we can achieve and how we can shape the world. The book of the future is still blank and it is up to us to fill the pages. It's still a journey - and we must travel carefully on the road to equality, but we have the best travel companions we could need - each other. So enjoy the day, take the time to think about those women who tirelessly fought for our rights - and dare to dream about what YOU can achieve in this world. As the women before us have already proven, nothing is impossible.