Spreading ripples at Women of HVACR Summit

The physical event was held in Melbourne, and the morning panel event was livestreamed as part of Global HVACR Women Week events. Founder of Global HVACR Women Week and also World Refrigeration Day, Stephen Gill, was one of the keynote speakers.

He said that one of the things that drives him is considering how we as an industry can burst the social and work bubbles we often occupy. The World Refrigeration Day event, for example, has grown from an initial social media campaign and website to become a global event that last year connected over 90 associations from around the world.

Similarly, Global HVACR Women Week aims to address the siloed situations many women find themselves in, where they feel they are the only woman in their profession in their region.

AIRAH President, Mikaila Ganado, M.AIRAH, echoed this, with an address that showed the face of the industry is more diverse than many might think.

“The real face of HVAC&R” is a technician in Botswana, Ganadao said. Or it is a woman in Madagascar running her own workshop or a woman in Kenya doing training for other HVAC&R technicians.

The ability of individuals to make a difference and start a ripple effect of change is also something to recognise.

“Your role and life stage don’t determine where you have an influence,” she said. “You don’t have to be everywhere to affect everywhere; you just have to start it.”

Those who are given a microphone, she said, should use it to amplify women who rarely get one.

“Get in the game”

ASHRAE President, Sarah Maston, also delivered at keynote at the event on the topic of retrofitting for resilience.

Maston posed the question, “what happens when the best practice guidelines are exceeded by extreme events?”

This is increasingly the case, she explained. It matters, because it is likely that 80% of the buildings that will exist in 2050 are the buildings we have today.

Maston said there is a “shortage of people who understand how buildings work.”

This needs to be addressed with urgency, as developing retro-commissioning gameplans for existing buildings is crucial for improving building performance and climate safety.

She urged everyone in the room to “get in the game”.

One of the resources ASHRAE has created to support improving capability is a computer game that enables players to develop strategies for making existing buildings more resilient.

HVAC Hero was developed as part of the 2026-27 ASHRAE Theme “Changing the Game: Retrofitting for Resilience”.

It is free and can be downloaded for either PC or MAC computers and laptops.

• Access it here

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