Media Releases & Position Statements

As technical societies, we recognise that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are critical to the growth, innovation, and success of the engineering profession. We strive to excel for our members and in our contributions to society.

These aims require that we create a culture of inclusion in which all members feel valued and can contribute to our capability as societies.

Engineering remains a sector that lacks diversity. It is upon all of us—leaders, members, and partners – to foster a more inclusive and diverse industry. Change comes from the top. As technical societies, we have an important role to play in leading this transformation.

Commitment to Representation

We commit to ensuring diverse representation across all aspects of our society, including:

• Targeting a diverse and inclusive Management Committee, so that we can better lead our industry towards solutions that are inclusive, accessible, and sustainable.
• Ensuring equity in selection of conference speakers and panellists, and that equitable opportunities to contribute and lead are available to all, targeting 40% women/40% men/20% any gender representation by 2027.
• Requiring technical subgroups, working groups, webinars, seminars and publications to promote inclusive participation and recognise the value of varied perspectives in engineering solutions.

Creating a Safe and Empowering Community

We strive to create a professional environment where all individuals—regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or background—feel safe, valued, and empowered to succeed. This includes:

• Raising awareness of systemic barriers and unconscious biases that impact career progression and workplace culture, so that we can design fairer systems, leading to stronger collaboration and engineering solutions for communities.
• Providing support networks that foster mentorship, sponsorship, and professional development opportunities.

Changing the Public Perception of Engineering

The way engineering is perceived plays a significant role in attracting diverse talent. We commit to actively reshaping outdated stereotypes by:

• Acknowledging the importance of authentic, diverse role models in engineering as a source of inspiration for future engineers.
• Showcasing engineering as a field that values and is driven by collaboration, creativity, and inclusivity—not just technical skills.
• Engaging in outreach programmes and partnerships to encourage participation from underrepresented groups.

Guiding Principles for a More Inclusive Industry

To drive lasting change, we commit to embedding the following principles in all society activities:

1. Authentic engagement – Upholding Te Tiriti ō Waitangi through the recognition of Matauranga Māori and the principle of partnership. Valuing cultural competency as a core skill for Aotearoa’s engineers so that as a profession we can work with Māori and Iwi to deliver outcomes that benefit all society.
2. Equitable Opportunity – Understand that opportunities within and aligned with the technical societies have been defined by the people who have held them to date. Advocate for strong candidates in all roles and positions within societies, while making space for diverse voices to contribute.
3. Active Inclusion – Foster an environment where all voices are heard, valued, and respected. Ensure this is a guiding principle when defining the working environment, particularly in technical working groups, standards committees, society sub-committees etc.
4. Accountability from Leadership – Ensure that DEI commitments are upheld at the highest levels of our society.
5. Transparency and Measurement – Ensure that all societies report on diversity metrics and progress. Not only of membership statistics but also across all mediums of engagement, inclusive of conferences, publications, webinars and public events. Ensure that reporting of data is honest and representative of the issue at hand.
6. Commitment – We commit to use our influence to promote these guiding principles beyond the immediate purview of the society

Download as a pdf file: Joint Technical Societies DEI Position Statement _formatted

Recognition of the environmental impacts of our work has long been an important part of our profession, as included in the Engineering New Zealand Code of Ethics. There is currently a growing focus on how to address this concern, in a way that recognises the ongoing importance of balancing environmental, economic, social, and cultural sustainability initiatives and outcomes on projects.

New Zealand’s net-zero-carbon legislation requires all industries to contribute to the carbon reduction journey and this is no different for the Construction and Structural Design industries. The Building and Construction sector currently accounts for around 15% of New Zealand’s annual carbon emissions (MBIE,2021); and around half of this is through the materials used in buildings and infrastructure.

SESOC recognises that carbon emissions reduction requirements will have a significant impact on structural engineering practice in the coming years. In fulfilment of our purposes as a society, we will encourage and support structural engineers to meet these emissions reduction requirements by (i) promoting excellence in design, (ii) disseminating relevant knowledge, (iii) promoting and participating in education and training of structural engineers (iv) providing a forum for communication, (v) participating in the development of standards and guidelines as appropriate, (vi) promoting safe economical construction in accordance with relevant standards, and (vii) working with like-minded organisations.

As examples of these initiatives in support of New Zealand’s net-zero-carbon targets, SESOC:

• welcomes and supports the Whole-of-Life Embodied Carbon Emissions Reduction Frameworks, part of MBIE’s Building for Climate Change Programme.
• encourages our members to engage with, understand, and undertake embodied carbon assessments for their projects and report the results widely to increase the overall ‘carbon literacy’ of the industry (and clients) ahead of the expected mandatory reporting requirements from Central Government.
• has established a Sustainable Design Task Group which has begun to collect guidance, training and other useful resources HERE. This provides a starting point for all structural engineering professionals interested in upskilling and becoming conversant with the language of sustainable design and embodied carbon reduction strategies.
• welcomes and supports the promotion by a number of leading structural engineers of a “Structural Engineers Declaration ” encouraging Companies to change the way they work.
• Will continue to facilitate opportunities for continuing professional development on the subject of sustainability and emissions reduction as they relate to structural engineering practice in New Zealand.

Download as a pdf file: