Women thriving in water: Purpose, place and opportunity

A conversation with two women within Interflow reveals a powerful sense of purpose and confidence in the fact that
you don’t have to be an engineer to shape the future of water.

Joanna Rodd, Interflow’s Community Relations Manager, experienced a moment that clarified the purpose of her role when she knocked on the door of an older woman.

“This lady was 94,” Rodd said. “She had lived in her home for 60 years and still drove. She was lonely and was nervous around project teams on and around her property. Once she sat and had a cup of tea with me, she quickly understood that our work was vital for her community’s good. She realised our crew members were good people who would take care of her and get the job done as quickly as possible. When you have a genuine interaction with someone, instead of just dropping a letter into their mailbox, you realise this is what we have to do more of.”

Rodd didn’t expect to find her calling in a male-dominated water sector but said her experience has been transformative.

“Interflow has been phenomenal for me,” she said. “The support I have received here–from leaders, teammates and even executives-has been amazing.”

Across the organisation, women are making their mark, said Interflow Chief Financial Officer Tracy Black.

“Women are shaping the culture, influencing our ways of working and delivering outcomes,” Black said.

From the field to finance, community engagement to marketing, safety and quality control, women at Interflow are redefining what a career in water can look like and who it’s for.

If you can’t see it, you can’t be it

Black said women are well represented at every level of Interflow. Three of eight executive positions are held by women. Around 24 per cent of all project managers are women, too. Visible female leadership is a key signifier of future organisational success. Black said it’s also essential for women in the business to see visible examples of where they could progress.

“When I look at companies, I always look at their executive team,” Black said, who joined the Interflow leadership team in 2022. “It’s a major red flag when I see organisations without any women on their executive team, especially when there are positions – like HR, for example – with a robust female talent pipeline in the market.”

Why? Companies that focus on inclusion and diversity are more likely to have a welcoming culture that enables people to be authentic at work. People who have permission to be authentic are happier at work and, therefore, more productive. They enjoy their work, Black said, and so they do it well.

Success for women in water is not a coincidence

Black said Interflow has made a conscious and well-designed effort to shift the balance. That includes diversity and inclusion strategies, regular leadership training programs open to all team members, and a gender pay gap measured at minus five per cent.

“The executive group here has a young, modern way of thinking,” she said. “I think that matters. In my experience, the old guard has a particular way of working, and the new guard has a different mindset. We all hire in our own image, and if an executive team is all male, it is hard for them to visualise a woman being in that group. But that’s not an issue at Interflow.”

Much more than engineering

While Interflow continues to attract top engineers, Black pointed out that almost every role imaginable in the water space exists.

“There are marketing roles, as well as people and finance roles,” she said. “There is IT and legal and logistics and working on the tools, you name it. Stay open to industries you might not have considered, and you could find yourself in an engaging and important sector, like water, where you can make a real difference in communities and the environment.”

Rodd agrees, saying each day in the water space is unique and deeply satisfying.

“As the conduit between the community and our crews, I’ve learned the technical side over time,” Rodd said. “But what matters most is listening, adapting and communicating. You need to be a bit of a chameleon, talking to someone in a luxury suburb one day and someone in a high-needs area the next.”

Black said part of the attraction of the water sector is the fact that the results of the work are extremely tangible.

“I’ve worked for businesses where you can’t touch the product,” she said. “But with water, it’s tangible. You know that it’s essential. You know it matters, and people here feel that. There’s a sense of pride that’s contagious. To young women, choose a sector where you see people like you succeeding. Then lean into your strengths, always be collaborative and curious, and most importantly, always be yourself.”

For more information, visit interflow.com.au