Empowered Women in Trades argues that while breaking down barriers and navigating cultural change are often discussed, the time for action has arrived.
By Melinda Davis, COO of Empowered Women in Trades.
The conversations around breaking down barriers for women and navigating cultural change are often robust, fuelled by people who don’t just want better for women, but for all humans. The thing with conversations is that they’re all talk. They are great catalysts for sharing ideas and knowledge, but it’s the actions that follow these conversations where we often fall short – and it’s through action that we would begin to see changes come to life.
A change in culture is not something we can simply talk about and then sit back and watch happen. It takes time. It needs to be something we collectively believe in, something we know will bring about a positive shift, and ultimately, it must be something we want to do.
I have attended so many roundtables, workshops and conferences this year and have heard from some amazing people and organisations doing great things. However, these events are often filled with ‘the converted’ – people who are already on board with making a culture shift and are well on their way to making progress. We are not addressing the deep-rooted culture embedded in the industry as a whole.
Culture change is an investment and needs to be led not just from the top down, but from all levels of the organisation. Bringing more women into construction is not just a matter of implementing a policy and expecting everyone to get on board. Organisations often approach Empowered Women in Trades (EWIT) with questions about culture, and for anyone considering doing the same, let me be blunt. We cannot fix your culture. We can support you in putting steps in place to see a culture shift, provide information and guidance, and be in your corner, but we can’t fix it.
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Here are the steps you can take now to support an inclusive culture:
- Reflect on your organisation. Be open and honest about where the line sits in terms of appropriate behaviour in the workplace. Poor behaviour is poor behaviour and should always be called out, regardless of its origin – not just because you hire a woman.
- Don’t see hiring a woman as the reason to change your culture; do it because it’s the right thing to do. Change your organisation’s culture because humans at all stages of life should have access to flexibility, support and an inclusive workplace that allows them to be authentically themselves. In case you missed the memo – just like women, not all men are the same.
- Change your language. Language is a powerful tool and can connect to powerful emotions. It takes time to change, and no one is expecting you to be perfect. Simply moving from terms like ‘guys’ or ‘the boys’ to ‘team’ supports inclusivity.
- Invest in your people. Often, professional development programs around culture, diversity and inclusion are delivered to leaders of an organisation or are instigated as a response mechanism because something has occurred. Provide opportunities at all levels of the organisation for people to learn, develop and understand the impact of behaviour and how powerful their individual actions can be.
- Lead with kindness and acknowledge that we won’t always get it right – but we are trying. Owning mistakes and correcting behaviours creates a ‘lead by example’ culture.
Culture won’t shift overnight, but it will change over time if we continue to work together to foster an industry that, as a collective, wants to be better for each other.
Change needs to be driven by the people in your organisation, but you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to organisations like EWIT, who are here to help you cultivate cultural change. My final piece of advice: just be a good human – that’s a great place to start.