The Defence Department has announced a recruitment drive with a 50 per cent target for attracting experienced female professionals in STEM fields.

The Federal Government has introduced additional entry pathways for STEM graduates within the Australian Public Service (APS) to encourage more women to join the research and innovation divisions of the Defence Department.

Assistant Defence Minister Matt Thistlethwaite says the new target will contribute to building a workforce that truly reflects the nation's talent pool. 

“Increased STEM targets at Defence open significant opportunities for women to amplify our force's capabilities. We're backing efforts to attract STEM talent to Defence's challenging, yet rewarding, field of innovation and technology,” he said. 

Currently, the APS STEM entry-level programs conducted by Defence have a women's participation rate of 25 per cent. 

The newly established target aims to double the participation rate in the STEM cadetship program and the research and innovation pathway of the Defence graduate program.

Furthermore, the Navigate program, which was initially piloted in 2022 to enhance the mid-career workforce capability of Defence, has also been assigned a 50 per cent hiring target for women STEM specialists. 

The Navigate program attracts participants from private industry and academia, offering them the opportunity to undergo two six-month rotations within different areas of the department to acquire Defence-specific skills. 

Successful program participants then have the chance to join the interdisciplinary Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG).

Professor Tanya Monro, the Chief Defence Scientist, praised the new women's participation targets, stating that they would allow Defence to tap into the national talent pool and advance the department's transformation agenda. 

“I'm incredibly proud of these bold targets. [They allow] Defence science to deliver greater impact to the ADF,” she said. 

By formalising the Navigate program with the explicit goal of increasing female representation in Defence, the minister said tangible results that can be achieved through determined participation targets. 

Last year, the Navigate pilot program exceeded its 40 per cent target with a women's participation rate of 43 per cent.