Elizabeth Harper: a trailblazing female leader in IT - Women's Agenda

Elizabeth Harper: a trailblazing female leader in IT

For many women the acronym GHD is synonymous with the hair straightener. Yet it’s also the name of a global engineering, architecture and environmental consulting firm founded in Melbourne almost 90 years ago, and its female Chief Information Officer is being recognised for her contributions to the company and the industry.

Elizabeth Harper was recently named as one of Queensland’s most inspirational businesswomen. She took home the Private and Corporate Sector Award at the state’s recent Telstra Women in Business Awards and will now proceed to the national final in Melbourne in November.

“I was shell-shocked,” Elizabeth told Women’s Agenda. “What I do is just my day job, I had no expectation (to win).”

Her ‘day job’ involves building relationships across the GHD business, which currently employs 8,500 people, as well as offering strategic direction to the board. She is also a mentor to many women at GHD and within the IT industry.

Harper started her career as a software developer and says she got to where she is due to perseverance.

“If you do a good job, communicate effectively and build relationships across the business you can achieve anything,” she says.

Harper has never seen working in a predominantly male dominated industry as a negative. Her advice to any other women wanting to follow her path into IT or engineering is “never give up.”

“Because we (women) can do it, we just have to be tenacious.”

That’s not to say Harper hasn’t witnessed sexism along the path to the top.

“Absolutely,” she laughed, “most of it not printable.”

She says women faced with discrimination in the workplace need to handle themselves with dignity and remove themselves from any uncomfortable situations immediately.

And she admits there is still a long way to go in terms of equality. “A lot of it is around unconscious bias when hiring and promoting,” she explained, adding that GHD has implemented a training program to ensure women in the business are mentored and can reach the top in the same way she has.

In terms of how she “manages it all”, Harper says she has a very supportive husband, who is the father of five children from a previous relationship. The couple are also proud grandparents.

“We (women) can’t do it all,” she told me. “We have to make choices, in reality there are trade-offs.”

Those trade-offs for Harper include working 18-hour days away from her family including overseas travel, but she says that’s her choice and she’s fortunate to have such a supportive partner.

“I’m (currently) away for three and a half weeks, but my household will continue to function. It’s about having the right support network within the company, within your family and within your friends.”

There’s no doubt that support network will be cheering Harper on at the National Women in Business Awards next month. For a woman who came from an IT background, Harper is both humbled and exhilarated to be among the nominees.

“This is really about celebrating women, I’m very excited.”

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