Paving the way for Women in STEM
In our 50th year of celebrating women at Emmanuel College, we would like to shine a light on the success story of our former ECSC Vice-President (2019), Catherine Gerrard, who is now a Test and Launch Operations Engineer at Rocket Lab in New Zealand. After completing her Bachelor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UQ in 2020, Catherine has gone on to work on cutting-edge space technology at the forefront of the industry, inspiring the next generation of women in STEM to pursue bold and ambitious career paths.
As part of our 50 Years of Women celebration, we caught up with Catherine to reflect on her journey from college life to the launch pad.
As a wide-eyed primary school student in 2004, Catherine eagerly watched on, along with the rest of the world, as the Opportunity Rover made its historic landing on Mars. Amidst the global excitement and celebration of technology, she was captivated by the spirit of discovery and the groundbreaking innovation the mission represented. Reflecting on that moment, Catherine shares, “It felt as though the entire world was collectively holding its breath and then celebrating together. That moment planted the seed of curiosity and ambition that continues to drive me today.”
Little did she know the importance of that moment, or that it would ignite a lifelong passion for aerospace that would one day become her career.
While Catherine’s journey has been full of high points of success and exciting milestones, it hasn’t come without hard work and facing times of adversity, especially as a woman in a historically male-dominated field. She describes one of the most persistent challenges as being the internalised self-doubt that comes with operating in such a highly technical and competitive environment, especially as a young, up-and-coming woman in the industry.
“Imposter syndrome is hard enough on its own,” she explains, “but it becomes even louder when external cues reinforce those feelings.”
While there have been cases of outright dismissal from her peers and instances of overt sexism as she has worked in aerospace engineering, Catherine has continually met these challenges with a quiet determination and unwavering self-belief, finding herself having to prove her capabilities time and time again as one of the few women in the room. During her time in the industry, Catherine has found that male voices often carry more weight than those of their female counterparts, leading her to challenge this limiting dynamic in the industry and change the narrative on women feeling like they need to tick every box before they put themselves forward for new opportunities. When she is unsure of tackling a new problem or situation, Catherine asks herself: “Am I approaching this with the audacity of a 22-year-old man?” At the end of the day, as a woman in the engineering field, she feels that bringing a diverse range of voices to the table fosters greater ideas and better collaboration in addressing problems and coming up with solutions. “Diverse voices don’t just belong at the table”, Catherine reflects, “they make the table better”.
When it comes to supporting the next generation of women in STEM, Catherine believes one of the most powerful things that can be done is to call out poor behaviour, rather than just leaving somebody to bear that burden, and allowing casual discrimination to become quietly accepted in the workplace. For her, men need to become more active allies in supporting women, to reflect on their own biases and call out others when they witness sexism or inappropriate behaviour. “Culture change doesn’t happen in silence,” she says.
While she hasn’t had a formal mentor, Catherine points out Simone Giertz as someone who has influenced her work and outlook on engineering, pointing out how she ‘makes engineering accessible to anyone’.
By challenging the existing workplace cultures and leading with confidence, Catherine is helping redefine what’s possible for young women entering the world of science and engineering- a fitting reflection of the legacy we are celebrating as part of our 50 years of Women milestone at Emmanuel College.
In 2025 Emmanuel College is celebrating 50 years since women were admitted to the College. If you know of an inspirational female-identifying alumnus, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at alumni@emmanuel.uq.edu.au.
