Through the 'Our People Their Stories' series, Downer people are bravely sharing the experiences that shaped them and the lessons they have learnt which has led them to think, act and live differently.

This month, we acknowledge International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a day that highlights a significant global gender gap that has persisted throughout the years at all levels of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

This month we spoke to Morgan Lewis, a Project Engineer with Power & Energy in the Facilities & Asset Services business. We learnt about Morgan’s story, why she became an engineer and her passion for encouraging more women to enter education and careers in STEM.

Morgan was born in Gladstone, a coastal city in regional Queensland. Growing up in one of Australia’s most industry-driven economic hubs, it was a natural step to pursue a career in engineering, she says. 

“STEM was a building block of my childhood. My dad was an engineer and Major Projects Manager at Gladstone Power Station, which was my first introduction to engineering and from there, I continued to fall in love with the idea of a STEM career.”

Morgan’s childhood of seeing her dad’s passion for his job was her inspiration to follow in his footsteps and pursue engineering. 

“My dad was always excited about his work and growing up, he would share the technical and leadership challenges he was working through in running major shutdowns that piqued my interest. This, coupled with the abundance of industry in Gladstone solidified my path forward.”

After completing high school, Morgan chose to study a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronics) through Central Queensland University in Gladstone because of the university's connections to industry and the opportunity to stay local. 

“In 2018 I was lucky to be the inaugural recipient of the CQUniCares scholarship, which is a partnership between Downer and Central Queensland University.” 

The Scholarship provides financial assistance and paid work experience to first or second-year female undergraduate engineering students. Since its inception, the scholarship has benefitted 14 students, with many progressing to full-time employment at Downer.

Morgan’s role at Downer is quite varied, which is an aspect she enjoys about her job. From field-based problem-solving, reporting and progress tracking, to ensuring project delivery meets all requirements, no day is ever the same. 

“I love what I do because I get to see projects through from tender to completion and have a meaningful impact on the outcome while working with a number of great teams along the way.”

She thinks it’s important that we at Downer continue to create opportunities for women to connect and engage with senior management, to foster successful relationships. 

“As a young woman working in a male-dominated industry, it can be isolating at times. Connecting with a strong support network is important to build meaningful connections and learn from each other.”

“I’m particularly grateful for the role models I have within Facilities & Asset Services, both men and women. Our leaders in F&AS and particularly within Power & Energy - Pat Burke, David Videroni and Nikki Poteri-Collie, are people I aspire to be like professionally. They are technically and commercially astute while actively leading their teams, and visible leadership is so important for our success as a business.”

Though she currently enjoys her role as a project engineer, when asked where she sees herself in five years, Morgan says that she would “like to transition from project engineering into project management and lead my own teams to success, that’s my goal. Additionally, I hope that I continue to have opportunities to support developing young professionals and use my ongoing experience to help others.”

Morgan says that attracting more women and girls to study STEM disciplines also benefits business because diversity of thought is essential for creating higher-performing teams. 

“In a design setting, a lack of gender diversity results in lopsided design priorities as we aren’t capturing all of the population’s needs and values. Likewise, in a construction or project setting, we are limiting the breadth of experience that we can draw upon. I think STEM will continue to be at the forefront of most social, economic and environmental discussions globally and we need a broad spectrum of voices in that conversation.”

Morgan strongly encourages young women to consider studying STEM disciplines at university. 

“If you are thinking about studying engineering, all I can say is, jump in! An engineering career can take you into any industry because we are essentially professional problem solvers. From developing cosmetics, designing spaceships, building our nation’s infrastructure or working to solve the challenges arising from the energy transition – the opportunities are endless.”