With global experience delivering major engineering and construction projects, Suburban Rail Loop Authority’s Nicole Stoddart leads the design and development of the Suburban Rail Loop rail infrastructure.
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Choose to Challenge’. When Nicole started out as a junior engineer in the 1990s, she would usually be the only woman on a worksite. In the male-dominated field, she has never let being a woman hold her back and has actively challenged gender bias in the workplace.
Nicole grew up in Greensborough and studied civil engineering at RMIT University. But her passion for engineering gave her a passport to the world, with an impressive 25-year career spanning projects across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Philippines and Thailand.
Now back in her hometown of Melbourne, as Executive General Manager of Rail Infrastructure at SRLA, she leads the team behind the design and development of the biggest infrastructure project ever undertaken in Victoria.
A Chartered Engineer, graduate of the Company Directors and with certificates in OH&S, Applied Finance and an unlimited Commercial Builder’s license, Nicole Stoddart’s experience includes work on London’s St Pancras Station, Melbourne’s Level Crossing Removal Project, and other major infrastructure projects here at home and abroad.
Nicole actively encourages young women to pursue a career in engineering – through speaking engagements, mentoring and university guest lectures, and she participates in International Women’s Day events and the ‘Introduce a Girl to Engineering’ initiative.
SRLA leads by example when it comes to gender diversity in the transport infrastructure industry with women making up half of all staff and 60 per cent of our leadership team.
To celebrate International Women’s Day we also spoke to five of the many inspiring women at SRLA. You can read more of their thoughts on the day, their advice for women in the industry, and how they are choosing to challenge.