Julie Mikhail, managing director of Engineering Business was awarded the Toastmaster International Communication and Leadership award last month for her leadership and promotion of women in engineering.
Mikhail’s award was for ‘Outstanding service to the community, state and industry through communication and leadership’.
The Communication and Leadership Award is presented by the Toastmasters District 70 (covering about 200 clubs in South Sydney, southern NSW and ACT) to a person in the community who is an outstanding communicator or leader.
As the current Sydney Division President of Engineers Australia, it was her speech at a Women in Engineering function earlier this year about her career journey and the progress of women in the field of engineering over the last 20 years, that impressed the judges.
At the Toastmasters awards function, Mikhail’s keynote speech covered the need for broader promotion of Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) careers, the diversity of opportunities that an engineering skill set provides and most importantly the value of effective communication skills even in a technical career.
Toastmasters is an international leading voluntary organisation for promoting communication, public speaking and leadership skills. Its mission is to empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.
