The 8th of March marks International Women’s Day (IWD) 2021 a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

In 2021, the theme for IWD is #ChooseTo Challenge. The theme encourages a number of Missions we can all do in our everyday work and social lives to help forge a gender equal world.

As a company focused on innovation and treating every person with respect, honesty, integrity and humanity, we at McDonald Surveys also celebrate our women surveyors and innovators, supporting the contribution they make in building the foundations of the cities we live in and the challenges they overcome to inspire others in the surveying and other STEM industries. 

One way we’re acknowledging International Women’s Day 2021 is by sharing the stories of our women surveyors and leaders – their achievements and challenges they overcome to build a respectful and equal community and working environment. 

McDonald Surveys celebrate a first with our women surveyors for International Women’s Day 2021

One story we would like to share is that of our surveyors – Stef Longo and Carolyn Grayson – who were recently part of an all-female survey crew on a major shutdown for a railway client up in the north of WA, handling the night shift.

This was a first for McDonald Surveys! Both Stef and Carolyn assisted by providing safe and accurate surveying support, which included:

• Setting of the turnout that was walked into place by a set of hydraulic legs. 
• Conducting measurements on the rail to relay to the temple which lifts and moves the rail into the correct place (within millimetres), and,
• Setting of monuments next to the rail. 

In addition to performing at a high level of standards, Stef and Carolyn also thoroughly enjoyed the experience. 

“We had a lot of fun. It was my first night shift and I thoroughly rated it. No flies, cool temperate but not cold and only a minimal crew working. Awesome!!,” commented Carolyn. 

Inspiring women in surveying

The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – STEM sector – which surveying falls under, predominantly have lower numbers of female participants. In addition to celebrating the achievements of our women surveyors, we also want to #ChooseToChallenge the industry’s status quo by sharing stories that might inspire others to join the surveying world. 

Here’s Carolyn’s surveying story…

“I got into surveying almost by accident. I moved to Kalgoorlie to get  involved with the mining industry and got a job as a Pit Tech for an open pit mine. When I was picked up on the first morning I started work, during the drive in I was asked if I would like to help the survey team out for a couple of months. I had no idea really what that meant but I knew enough to say YES! Needless to say I didn’t return to the job as a pit tech.” 

“I studied surveying on the job and then remotely when I had my daughter. I found coming back to TAFE to study as a 36 year old mother, challenging.” 

“I often say that surveying is a great job for women. The challenge about it is the hours when you have a family. It almost prohibits someone like myself from working as a field surveyor. However, workplaces such as McDonald Surveys understands  this and want to create a solution. They offer a flexible environment so that I am able to work the hours I can. It’s a perfect fit for me.” 

“Working in this industry has opened up a new world of possibilities. Working in the underground mine has been my most memorable moment. It’s a dynamic environment and I learnt a lot.”

“Secondly, learning about rail and working with some of the best rail teams. I get a lot of satisfaction working with a group of people with a common goal. It can be a great sense of accomplishment to finish the job as a group.” 

Want to know more about working in surveying?

Here at McDonald Surveys we focus on delivering best-in-class services which include: advisory, design, surveying, digital engineering and 3D visualisations and modelling. We provide these services for the Rail & Metro, Road and Built Environment sectors. 

Get in touch if you would like to find out more.