On 14 March, BOC, a leading global gases and engineering company, and Chandler McLeod, a large provider of human resources solutions, hosted a Women working with BOC networking event.
The event was a great opportunity to network with women from BOC and Chandler McLeod as well as a number of women students pursuing a career in engineering, IT and other sectors. The highlight of the evening was a discussion panel with three successful BOC managers. These women shared their experiences in the company in terms of engagement, career opportunities, mentoring, working conditions, parental leave and flexible working arrangements.
One of the speakers was a young manager - Kate. Kate has secured a position at BOC after completing the BOC Graduate Development Program. Kate shared her passion for the industry and how she has seen real possibilities for women to move up in an industry traditionally dominated by men. She said that she was reading a BOC magazine featuring top managers in the company and realised they were all men. She then turned to the Master of Ceremonies and said: “I would like to change that”.
I was impressed by the structure of BOC‘s graduate development program, where this year, a large number of participants are women. Each graduate is assigned a mentor from BOC who helps with the learning experience and with any difficulty arising. The mentor also discusses topics like career paths with the graduate.
BOC seems to be genuinely interested in supporting women in engineering and IT so I suggest its worth checking out their graduate program!
By Maritza Messina, Industry Liaison Manager, Industry Partnering Unit, FEIT
