Naturally, the women of NAWIC and the construction industry were excited by this announcement by the Government!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/123432298/more-women-picking-up-the-tools-government-say...
Most agreed it is a great leap in the right direction but also feel the focus is a bit short sighted. It is not just about making it easier for women to get into trades, what about creating attractive work cultures on work sites, addressing gender bias, and attitudes in some pockets of the industry. Then there are the practical things like enough resource and capacity in the training organisations to take a bigger influx of students, and the school education system being in tune with the whole campaign, at a grass roots level. Here is what some of our council members have to say about their experiences and perspectives, after reading this announcement.
Colleen Upton
– GM of Hutt Gas and Plumbing and NAWICS trades representative says there needs to be more groundwork in driving better ‘site culture’.
"Young and older females will be more drawn to apprenticeships and trades if they have a sense of belonging! The culture on sites and in the workplace needs to be welcoming and accommodating. A small thing like having a toilet on site to use without having to ask for a key or check with someone else would be a great start. Anecdotally we have heard stories of women being given buckets to use as a toilet on site, trees painted with a pink stripe on to wee behind, having to ask the office staff on sites for a key each time they want to use a toilet. These are basic human necessities and not ones our male colleagues have to face. We absolutely support and strongly encourage more women to enter construction – be it via an apprenticeship or or cadetship, admin or professionally based. But we need to get the groundwork done right – so they can feel that they belong there just as much as their male colleagues. Imagine turning up to work at an office job and being given a bucket and no privacy for your toileting. Makes you think, right?"
There is also a bottle neck at the trade training intake end, with so much being poured into attract more into the trades, little has been poured in to balance out the capacity of the training institutions to cope with the influx.
It will take more than a money pot poured unevenly in from the top to bring about sustainable change.
Sarah Toase
– EO of Crane Association of New Zealand Inc – NAWIC Wellington Chapter Chair, comments of the visibility of construction as a valid career option for young women.
“To get more women into the construction industry, women need to be presented with trades as a viable career option. We need to see more women working in the wide variety of roles that make up this exciting industry. Companies then need to ensure their culture and structure is set up to support women in historically male dominated fields. Some firms are out there doing this exceptionally well. Unfortunately, this is not the case across the board, however the more we hear about women succeeding in construction, the more other women will follow. We need young girls and women to look at a female plumber, a crane operator, electrician or builder and think “I can do that!”."
Some schools are embracing initiatives by organisations such as the work of inspiring the future www.inspiringthefuture.org.nz/businesses
To make fast and sustainable change across the country, all schools need to shift curriculum, language, and views about career options for young people include, taking the gender barrier off them all.
Stacey Mendonça
– Chief estimator at Pacific Doors – President and co-founder of NAWIC, speaks positively about how the construction industry is gearing up to lead COVID recovery and is crying out for more talent, gender irrelevant.
“At NAWIC we believe the borrowed line – “She has to see it to be it’ and we work hard to increase our numbers within the industry. Our women are fantastic role models, but we need to normalise working onsite to encourage more women to our ranks. This is an industry wide issue that collectively we need to work together on improving and changing mindsets of women, employers, and parents.
Construction is crying out for more workers and more women. Tradies need to think about getting their daughters into their businesses, and women who find themselves out of work or displaced, should think about the relative security of the construction industry. Construction is gearing up to lead COVID recovery, and we need all the skills and expertise to make it happen and good employers don’t care what your gender is.”
If you would like support, encouragement, information about getting into the trades, or to join an organisation whose core mission it is to raise the voice of women in the construction industry, check out the work NAWIC does here
