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Chloe Chang

@chloechangengineers

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Forbes 30U30 | Herald Sun 25U25
💌 [email protected]
🌕 Space engineer 🖼️ artist

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Let’s talk about “don’t wear a short dress… because it’s unprofessional.”

“Don’t wear a short dress we don’t want men looking up your skirt.”

“Don’t wear a short dress because you’re on stage and someone might film up your crotch.”

All statements that were said to me about the blue dress.

That reasoning frustrates me.

The implication is that a woman’s clothing is responsible for other people’s behaviour. It’s not.

If someone chooses to stare, sexualise, or secretly film a woman, that’s a reflection of their actions—not her outfit.

A short dress is not unprofessional.

Turning up unprepared, missing deadlines, producing poor engineering, or failing to communicate effectively—that’s unprofessional.

Last time I checked, designing systems for space had nothing to do with the length of my dress.

Too often, “professionalism” is used to police women’s appearance rather than evaluate the quality of their work. Women are expected to manage how others might react to them instead of expecting others to behave appropriately.

Professionalism should be measured by competence, integrity, and the quality of your work—not by whether your hemline is two inches above your knee.

It’s time we stop confusing dress codes with professionalism, and stop placing the responsibility for inappropriate behaviour on the women who experience it. by @chloechangengineers

I still surprise people when I tell them I’m an engineer at conferences and industry events.

But the worst thing is when people know I’m an engineer and then say I don’t look like one and tell me I should wear pants and boots to look more like a serious engineer. I love that the fact that I am contributing to the design and engineering of lunar rovers is not enough to qualify me as a serious engineer for some.

Appearance and choice of dress does not equate to ability 👏

Authenticity = highest quality of work, creativity and discovery by @chloechangengineers

Chloe is a mechanical engineer at Lunar Outpost Oceania where she contributes to the design of ‘Roo-ver’, Australia’s first lunar rover, which is supported by the Australian Space Agency and will go to the moon with NASA.⁠
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She co-led the Monash Nova Rover University robotics team 2022-2023, where their hot pink Mars and Lunar rover placed first in Australia and second globally. She also launched the Pink Rover campaign to start conversations about women in STEM, challenging stereotypes and redefining who belongs in STEM. ⁠
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A former CSIRO intern focused on automating scientific workflows, Chloe is passionate about building a more inclusive future in space engineering.⁠
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Class of 2025: Out now at the link in bio.⁠
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#30Under30⁠ by @chloechangengineers

“Are you allowed to be a model? Chloe, you’re too short to be a model. No serious engineer models.”

The other day, I was sharing my excitement about walking in a fashion show with a supportive colleague when another colleague made these comments.

It was a reminder of how casually we diminish women’s ambitions and try to box them into one identity. As if being an engineer means you can’t be a model. As if your height, appearance, or career should determine what you’re allowed to pursue.

We’ve been conditioned to treat beauty standards as the ultimate authority, when in reality, they’re made up. They change with time, culture, and whoever holds the power to define them.

To me, beauty comes from within. It’s having the freedom to express externally what you feel internally. To be unapologetically yourself, whether that looks like a glittering gown, a hard hat, or both.

I refuse to choose between being an engineer and expressing my love for fashion. I refuse to let someone else decide what I’m allowed to be.

No one defines your beauty, your ambition, or your potential but you. ✨

📸 @opheliljm @hiits.chi @thaomnom
Creative director: @nhii.core @niniwxrld.visuals @lifeinmelb.nini by @chloechangengineers

Prove 👏 them 👏 wrong 👏

I will keep posting these videos until it is the norm to see women like me reflected in engineering.

The women who are ambitious and build loudly. Who are not just one thing - they are many.

Who paints their nails, wears high heels and loves a full face of makeup. Who is passionate about solidworks and structural loads.
Who never takes no for answer.

Who changes the environment around her to fit her, not fit herself into environment she doesn’t fit in.

📸 @clarayahh by @chloechangengineers

Halloween costume loading

Thank you beautiful @katheriine.lim for helping me get ready 🫶 by @chloechangengineers

I’m obsessed

📸 @katheriine.lim by @chloechangengineers

I think I might switch careers… like wdym I can wear this every night as a showgirl 🤩🤩

Or maybe I’ll do both?! by @chloechangengineers

Living out my showgirl dreams tonight

📸@clarayahh by @chloechangengineers

My boss said try be as scary as possible it’s Halloween. So I came as the physical embodiment of us failing our mission. by @chloechangengineers

Be an unapologetic diva today. by @chloechangengineers

Lately 🥨🥖🥐💞💓👯‍♀️👯‍♀️👯‍♀️👯‍♀️ by @chloechangengineers