Speaking on International Women’s Day (IWD) earlier this month, Ms Poloni – the first woman to lead AECOM’s Australia and New Zealand region – said businesses needed to continuously challenge barriers relating to unconscious bias, inflexible working conditions and pay inequality if they wanted to be an employer of choice and trusted client partner.

“Making it easier for women to access appropriate career support and networking opportunities is only part of what needs to be a comprehensive, national and year-round conversation about how we can unlock the full potential of women in businesses of all sizes, in all industries,” said Ms Poloni.

“We know from discussions happening at all levels of our business that our team members expect to see strong leadership on these issues – from both men and women.”

“Our clients have also told us how important it is to do business with firms that are showing real leadership in addressing the issues of pay inequality and unconscious bias.”

“Diversity and equality makes good business sense, and at AECOM, this is the way we want to do business.”

Ms Poloni leads AECOM’s 3000-strong team of multi-disciplinary specialists across more than 20 offices in Australia and New Zealand; 30 percent of the current team are women.

She has been a member of the AECOM team for over 20 years and, since becoming Chief Executive in May 2014, has championed “open, frank conversations” around the structural, cultural and unconscious barriers faced by women, and the actions needed to overcome them.

As one of 62 Australian business leaders to have signed on as an ambassador for the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s (WGEA) In Your Hands campaign, Ms Poloni is encouraging other business leaders to recognise pay equity as a key business imperative.

She has led the development of AECOM’s successful Women in Infrastructure network in Sydney and Melbourne, and is involved in industry mentoring programs for the National Association of Women in Construction, the Committee for Melbourne, and Roads Australia. She also recently launched AECOM’s internal mentoring group, MCircles, based on the “Lean In” principles championed by Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg.

Setting achievable targets that build momentum for positive change while empowering women to take control of their careers was critical to success, said Ms Poloni, adding that while AECOM had made encouraging progress in many areas, there was still much work to be done.

“When I look at our metrics of women in leadership roles, we have some way to go,” she said, “but we are focusing on long-term lead indicators such as development opportunities for women, promoting more women from within the organisation, and hiring more women into leadership roles from outside our business.”

“I am seeing positive changes in how gender is discussed between leaders and our people.”

“AECOM is committed to gender pay equity and is working with the WGEA to assess any pay gaps and develop solutions to bring about pay equity.”

“We believe that conducting gender pay reviews when we first hire women will help, along with ensuring that salaries of women on maternity leave keep up with their peers who have not taken a career break.”  

“AECOM will also be closely considering our approach to flexible work hours in the coming year.”

As part of this year’s International Women’s Day celebrations, Ms Poloni will feature as part of AECOM’s global campaign celebrating the stories and achievements of AECOM women around the world.

AECOM’s Impact Blog is dedicating the month of March to featuring women around the world who inspire, lead, and impact those around them, while AECOM’s Instagram and