The National Association for Women in Construction Awards (NAWIC) were held in Perth recently. There were 48 finalists across nine categories each one celebrating the achievements of women in the construction sector.
In an exclusive interview with Inside Construction, project director at APP Corporation and winner of the prestigious Swan Group Crystal Vision Award Jill Fraser discusses the important role women play in construction and how crucial it is for the sector that girls at school-age are encouraged to join the sector.
Congratulations on being award the Swan Group Crystal Vision Award. How important is it to recognise women’s role in the construction sector?
Thanks very much. It was a complete surprise especially being amongst so many successful women on the short list. I think it’s so important to recognise what women do in the construction industry, because even though I’ve been working on sites for almost 15 years, I still get surprised looks and questions when asked what I do, and I know women were working on sites and in engineering long before I started. So really, the understanding of what women do and can achieve in such a male dominated industry is still very low, but the more we continue to promote and generate positive discussion around these things the better.
What is your role at APP Corporation?
My official title is a project director. I work within a consultancy firm that works with clients who have projects to undertake. This will involve me working on a variety of projects as the person that sits between the client and the other consultants and contractors. I work on a huge variety of projects, from business and feasibility studies to smaller commercial and retail builds and fit-outs to large-scale infrastructure construction. I will manage a project from the client’s first idea, through the briefing and design process, then tendering and procuring the contractor. We will then go through delivery, which might involve a full time secondment to the site for the large projects or an office base and site visits for smaller projects. Of course, I do all of this with a great team of people who work hard and make me look good!
What made you want to work in construction?
I was always very hands-on as a youngster playing outside in the dirt, and always making things either with lego, scalextric, construx, grass cuttings and twigs, and timber in my grandads garage, anything I could get my hands on. One year, I made bird tables for all of my family with some ply and a couple pieces of 2×1. I was so proud of them! So when I went through school, I was good at the tech subjects like science and maths. I had a maths teacher who encouraged me to think about engineering as a subject at university because, in his words “You can turn an engineer into anything, but you can’t turn anything into an engineer” so I started and completed a joint honours degree in civil engineering and construction management. I took a year out after that to spend some time hanging out in the highlands of Scotland, and the bars and restaurants of Edinburgh – sometimes even working in them. Then it became time to find a proper job, and I applied and was successful in my first site management role. I immediately loved it and although it had its challenges, I knew it was for me. To be outdoors and working with people, spending time thinking and solving complex technical problems and to do all of this and get a tangible built form at the end suited me perfectly. The fact that I can now see, feel and stand in my projects is something really special and unique with construction – and it’s why I am still working on site now.
Has it been an easy path to achieve your goals as a woman in the sector?
It’s not been the easiest, but I don’t think that it’s necessarily unique to construction. Where anybody is a minority in a particular field it’s going to be more of a challenge. Consciously or otherwise women in construction will at some stage of their career get judged differently from their male counterparts. I have experienced some difficult moments in my journey that did make me consider whether construction was right for me. From having to lead toolbox talks in a site shed that was covered in pornographic images, to being given a personal alarm to carry on site ‘just in case’. Thankfully, I managed to work through those moments and grow stronger and more determined as a result. I have had some amazing support and mentors over the last few years that have really helped me to understand where I want to be and what I want to achieve. Yes, women need to stand up and know what they want and to have the confidence to ask for it but their peers and managers need to create the environment in which that can happen.
Does the sector have an active equality movement?
It does, and it keeps getting stronger. When I picked up my award last week, I told a quick story about how the first NAWIC event I went to in Perth there was about six women in a basement bar, having a bit of a natter about our jobs. Now, there are almost 400 people in a room celebrating women’s achievements. I don’t think we ever thought that possible six or seven years ago. We still have a long way to go. The research being done keeps telling a grim story about the pipeline of women in construction, and STEM subjects generally, the loss of excellent talent in the middle of their careers, and the lack of senior positions being held by women. This is where it needs to be the whole industry from the top down forging that change and not just the women at grass roots trying to smash that ceiling by themselves.
How important is it to reach out to girls in schools to encourage them to pursue a career in construction?
It is so important. I’d go so far to say it is the most important part. It wouldn’t matter if every construction company in the country mandated 50% female employees – if girls aren’t learning the skills at school, it would be pointless. For me, it is so important to de-mystify gender-bias careers at an early age so girls feel comfortable choosing STEM subjects that could lead them to construction either through academia or trades and apprenticeships and that’s as important as making sure childcare or healthcare careers are just as appealing to boys. To provide visibility of what is achievable with these career choices, by all genders, is incredibly important. I am a firm believer in ‘if you can’t see it, you can’t be it’ so the more we recognise and promote women in construction, the more people will see it as normal and accept it as such.
What does the future look like for women considering a career in construction and where would you like to see women in the future?
I think it looks really positive for women in construction. There is a groundswell of initiatives to encourage young women into the industry and to keep them there for a long career as well as supporting and encouraging them to reach for as high as they want to. Men and women at all levels of the industry are working hard to make this achievable and it’s fantastic to see heads of businesses like Mirvac, Lendlease, Multiplex, Brookfield all coming together to support initiatives and support women and girls in construction careers. I had the opportunity to meet a few young women considering a trade career at a recent career expo with TradeUp and it really gladdened me that these young women were actively seeking advice and support to allow them to choose the career they thought would be best for them. Construction can offer so much to young people as a career choice, whether it’s as an owner-operator of a small residential building business, working in a trade, or running a global construction company. Where do I want to see women in the future? Everywhere!
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