Overview
- Six WORK180 Endorsed Employers share the career development programs, networks, and leadership pathways supporting women to grow and lead.
- The most effective programs meet women at key career moments — returning from parental leave, stepping into first leadership roles, or building confidence to advocate for themselves.
- Impact is measured beyond satisfaction scores: promotion rates, leadership pipeline strength, and real career progression are the markers that matter.
- Accessibility is a common thread — the employers featured here have built programs that reach women across roles, locations, ranks, and career stages.
Featured in this story
Honeywell Australia | Pitcher Partners Melbourne | Powerlink | Rheinmetall Defence Australia | Softcat | Toyota Australia | Unitywater
Featured in this story
Australian Energy Market Operator
Infosys
Queensland Fire Department
Softcat
Toyota Australia
Stantec Australia
Talking about career development for women is easy. Delivering it at scale, with intention, and with measurable results — is something else entirely.
The six WORK180 Endorsed Employers featured here have done the harder work. They’ve built programs grounded in real data, designed with accessibility in mind, and shaped by the voices of the women who’ve been through them. What they’ve created isn’t a collection of feel-good initiatives. It’s a sustained, strategic investment in women’s careers; and here’s what that looks like in practice.
AEMO: Building confidence at every career stage
Anu Achankunju is a Senior Project Manager, Digital at AEMO. She went through the Impact Program — a tailored development experience for women at key career decision points, including aspiring leaders, technical specialists, and women returning from parental leave. She came out the other side with more than new skills.
“The Impact Program was a powerful and personal journey. It began with self-awareness and evolved through themes like courage, empathy, networking, and resilience. The 1:1 coaching, accountability partner, and live presentations added depth and connection. Over three months, with thoughtful touchpoints, the program left a lasting impact on my professional growth. I’m grateful not only for the skills gained but also for the friendships formed along the way.”
The Impact Program sits within a broader ecosystem. AEMO holds sponsored places on the Australian Power Institute’s leadership programs across early, professional, and mid-career stages. And all select-entry programs at AEMO; including Leading@AEMO, Coaching@AEMO, Rising Leaders Program and the McKinsey Executive Leadership Program — target at least 50% female participation. Progress is tracked through workforce data, promotion rates, and engagement surveys, with formal reporting at board and executive level.
Chris Hartman, AEMO’s Group Manager Organisational Development says accessibility is non-negotiable: transparent application processes, multiple entry points across career stages, and active focus on women at transition points; including those returning from parental leave, where the barriers are traditionally highest.
Infosys: Promotion ready, not just program complete
Sayantani (Tani) Chakraborty joined EdgeVerve, an Infosys subsidiary, in a pre-sales role and needed the right support to make a career transition. She found it.
“At a critical point in my career, Jacinta Moses, Infosys’ AVP, APAC HR Head provided the encouragement, mentorship, and opportunities I needed to successfully make that transition — giving me the confidence to step into a role that aligned with my aspirations.”
Tani is now an Associate Practice Engagement Manager. Her story is one of many. Infosys measures success by role advancement, meaning, how many alumni of their programs move into larger, higher-impact positions after finishing. Jacinta says;
“Success is seen when the programs produce promotion-ready women who are making a visible impact on the business.”
At the senior level, the IamtheFuture flagship program prepares women for executive roles through partnerships with Northwestern Kellogg, MIT, and Harvard Business Review. Orbit Next supports earlier-career women through targeted reskilling and leadership development. And AI upskilling courses, virtual classrooms, and AI Tribes are open to all employees — because access to critical future skills shouldn’t depend on your title.
Queensland Fire Department (QFD): Participant one year, Coach the next
Rhoda Smith joined QFD’s Connecting Women Program as an Auxiliary Lieutenant at Charters Towers. She was keen to develop personally and contribute more to her peers, but hadn’t yet had a formal opportunity to do so. She applied, was accepted, and everything shifted.
Her confidence grew. She built lasting networks. She discovered opportunities she hadn’t known were available to her.
Then she returned as a table coach to help lead and mentor other women in the service. Today, Rhoda is an active member of the QFD Frontline Women’s Network as the Northern Auxiliary Representative, bringing lived experience to every conversation. Marie Bledsoe, Senior Consultant – Strategic Talent Solutions says:
“The program was created in response to a recognised need to build both connection and leadership capability among our female workforce — two things that are deeply linked when it comes to career progression.”
The Connecting Women Program is open to every woman in QFD, paid staff or volunteer, regardless of rank, tenure, or location. It includes mentoring, peer networking, guest speakers, self-awareness development, and structured planning. QFD also actively supports attendance at external programs like the Australian Fire and Emergency Services Council Conference, and participation in leadership programs designed specifically for emergency services leaders.
Softcat: From program participant to Head of Services
Softcat runs two structured leadership programs: the Leadership Foundations Program for emerging leaders, built around mentoring, 360-degree feedback, and cross-functional networking; and the Leadership Development Program for high-potential leaders, focused on strategic thinking, commercial awareness, and senior mentoring. The High Potential Trait Indicator is used across both to support self-awareness and personal growth.
Nakitta Ahmed, now Head of Services, is a great example of Softcat’s Leadership Development Program can support career growth and progression. She says:
“The program really helped me develop my wider support network at Softcat. I got to work with people that I wouldn’t normally have had the opportunity to. Getting different perspectives on some core elements of my leadership style really helped me develop. My mentor really helped challenge me on some of my thought processes and also provided some really practical and useful tools to use in continuing my development and stakeholder management. Overall, I’m really pleased that I was nominated for the programme, and I am proud of what I achieved during the year.”
Access isn’t left to chance. Succession planning sits at the heart of how opportunities are identified and communicated, with line managers and HR working closely to ensure development conversations are proactive, not reactive.
Stantec: Imagining the possibility before the title arrives
Stantec’s Developing Leaders program is a two-day, face-to-face experience for emerging leaders. The program focuses on self-awareness, values-based leadership, communication, feedback, and leadership identity. For many women, it provides a powerful space to strengthen their voice, build cross-regional connections, and align their leadership style with their values.
Samantha Faustino joined the program as a Senior Civil Engineer without a formal leadership role. Two days later, something had changed.
“At the time I did not hold a formal leadership position, but the experience allowed me to imagine that possibility and encouraged me to step into leadership if the opportunity arose. My biggest takeaway was something we often take for granted. We are all different, with different behaviour styles, values, perspectives and backgrounds. Acknowledging, accepting and learning to work positively with these differences is fundamental to good leadership.”
Samantha has since been promoted to Team Leader. She’s already registered for Stantec’s Leadership Launchpad, the next step in her development journey.
100% of recent Developing Leaders cohort participants rated the program 4 or 5 out of 5.
An annual Learning Calendar is visible to all employees, and leaders are actively encouraged to hold development conversations with their teams. The structured nomination processes, combined with open visibility of opportunities, help minimise bias and broaden participation. Women don’t have to wait to be selected. They’re empowered to put their hand up.
Toyota Australia: A decade of doors opening
Toyota Australia’s philosophy behind career development in programs is continuous improvement, respect for people, long-term capability building which shapes how development happens day to day. Through structured learning, mentoring, cross-functional projects, and flexible working, women are supported to build careers that compound over time, not just tick boxes along the way.
What that looks like in practice is best told through someone who’s lived it.
Geri Ryan, joined Toyota Australia ten years ago as an Engagement Consultant, at a time when her experience in a family business wasn’t widely recognised by other organisations. Toyota saw potential and invested in it.
In the years that followed, she led the establishment of the Toyota Australia Archives, designed the Toyota Experience Centre, drove quality strategy across the Oceania region, and stepped into a sponsorship program at the critical moment she moved into her first management role. She now leads Toyota Australia’s External Affairs department.
“I have been backed by leaders and colleagues who genuinely championed my growth and created opportunities for me to build capability through varied and often unfamiliar roles. Toyota saw potential in me, trusted me with meaningful work, and invested in my development, support for which I remain deeply grateful.”
The Female Sponsorship Program at Toyota is designed specifically for that pivotal moment; the transition into a first management role. Development also happens through the mentoring program, cross-functional project experience, and structured learning across the One Toyota network.
Geri’s contribution has also been recognised through multiple finalist selections in the Toyota Way in Action Awards, including one win, which enabled her to participate in a study tour to Japan and further deepen her understanding of Toyota’s philosophy, culture, and values.
The proof is in the people
You know more than a job listing would tell you. You know what AEMO built for Anu Achankunju. The program Rhoda Smith joined (and came back to lead). Where Nakitta Ahmed is now. What Samantha Faustino imagined before anyone gave her the title. What Infosys trusted Tani Chakraborty to step into. What a decade at Toyota made possible for one leader’s career.
That’s the standard worth holding employers to. Not the mission statement or the diversity page. The actual investment — in real people, at real moments, that produced real results.
You deserve to work somewhere that knows your name and where you’re headed. Explore all six employers on WORK180.
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Australian Energy Market Operator
- The Impact Program is tailored development at key career decision points
- All select-entry programs target at least 50% female participation
- Active support for women at transition points, including return from parental leave
Infosys
Australia
- IamtheFuture is about executive readiness in partnership with Kellogg, MIT, and Harvard Business Review
- Orbit Next focuses on career acceleration for mid-career women
- AI upskilling open to all, regardless of role or level
Queensland Fire Department
- Connecting Women Program is open to all women, paid or volunteer, any rank
- Frontline Women’s Network and cross-agency Leading Women Network
- Supported access to external leadership programs for emergency services leaders
Softcat
- Leadership Foundations Program is for mentoring, coaching, and 360° feedback
- Leadership Development Program is for strategic thinking and senior mentoring
- Succession planning drives access, not visibility alone
Stantec
- Developing Leaders is a 2-day face-to-face program, 100% satisfaction in recent cohorts
- Their annual learning calendar visible to all employees
- Women are empowered to self-nominate, not wait to be selected
Toyota
- The Female Sponsorship Program is for women stepping into first management roles
- The Mentoring program open to mentees and mentors across the organisation
- Cross-functional project experience across the One Toyota network
