The all-female networking ‘dream team’ connecting the FIFA World Cup

The IT sector has a problem attracting women and girls but this team of network engineers is kicking goals off field while the best women footballers weave their magic on the pitch.

Cisco vice president Ben Dawson with students.

While all eyes are on the pitches of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, an all-female “dream team” of network engineers has worked behind the scenes installing hundreds of switches and access points across the tournament’s nine stadiums.

It’s a program aimed at slashing the STEM gender gap and solving the IT industry’s image problem.

Cisco is the official network infrastructure provider of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and members of its all-female networking academy have been learning how to run cables and set up wireless access points across the tournament’s 10 cities.

This comes as statistics show the proportion of women in STEM-qualified jobs is sitting at just 15 per cent nationally.

The IT industry is still being plagued by an image problem that was keeping girls and young women away from the sector, according to Cisco vice president Ben Dawson.

“We need to do something differently,” he told The Australian. “We applaud all the efforts that other technology providers are doing to grow the skills base and we certainly welcome any moves around increases in skilled migration.

“But I think the missing ingredient is how do we make this industry attractive, particularly to females? If we’ve only got a 15 to 25 per cent participation rate then there’s a whole talent pool that we’re leaving on the bench.

“We need to show women that IT jobs are not boring. Technology and technologists are going to be absolutely critical to the big things that faces as a country.”

Australia’s Ellie Carpenter in action against Ireland. Picture: Getty Images

His firm’s 25-year-old Networking Academy is approaching 250,000 students in Australia, with 94 per cent of students obtaining a job or education opportunity.

The federal government last week released the 2023 STEM Equity Monitor, which tracks outcomes, pay, academic research funding and other workforce characteristics.

It found that in higher education in 2021, women accounted for 37 per cent of enrolments in university STEM courses – up from 34 per cent in 2015. Enrolments in vocational education and training STEM courses increased slightly from 15 to 17 per cent.

The gender gap is costing Australian businesses $9m per day, according to RMIT and Deloitte.

“At this rate, it’ll take nearly a century for us to get to parity for women in the STEM workforce,” Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic said.

“It’s not good enough, we don’t have a century.

“We need to break down stereotypes about STEM careers, improve learning opportunities and how STEM workplaces attract and retain under-represented employees.”

Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic. Picture: Martin Ollman

Networking Academy student Catherine Ashton said she stumbled upon the IT industry but now couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

“Life is all about the opportunities available and the minute this one came up, I was determined to be a part of it,” Ms Ashton said.

“It’s obviously a huge tournament and to be associated with it really is a once in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m passionate about sport, passionate about technology and passionate about moments in time that celebrate female talent; it’s a perfect fit for me.

“Every industry runs on technology and its importance has only increased since the pandemic.

The on-field action is being brought to you courtesy of an all-women off-field team. Picture: Getty Images

“I feel that to entice more females into tech there needs to be greater exposure to female role models within the industry, they can show us what is achievable and inspire the next generation.”

Fellow network engineering student NoorUlAin Zafar also participated in the program.

“I was keen to be involved in the dream team as, while I love theoretical studying, for me there’s nothing better than applying your acquired skill into the real world and they don’t come much cooler than the Women’s World Cup,” she said.

“I think as a society we’re not encouraged to experiment, tinker and try and fix things enough … If something is broken, the first reaction is to throw it away.

“I have loved being around fellow-minded females and in a supportive environment, and that’s really fuelling my passion to problem solve.

“I am gaining a lifetime’s worth of experience and can hopefully claim to be a very small part of the Matildas’ success in the tournament going forward.”