In Episode 7 of the NAWIC podcast, The Leaky Pipeline, we have a captivating conversation with Jo Farrell, the ACT Australian of the Year Award winner for 2024.

Jo wears multiple hats as the owner of the charity 'Build Like a Girl' and holds the position of General Manager at Kane Constructions ACT.

Jo shares her journey, starting from her initial role as 'just a chippy' in the construction industry. She delves into the challenges she faced, highlighting the determination that led her to work for free for three months to prove her worthiness for an apprenticeship.

Join us as we explore Jo's experiences, from overcoming the hurdles of gender biases to her current influential roles in the industry. Gain valuable insights into her dedication to empowering women in construction through her charity work and her impactful position as the GM of Kane Constructions.

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When she shared her story to an auditorium full of NAWIC Members and Allies there was barely a dry eye in the house. Miranda Swift, a cadet engineer working at Northrop, has captured the admiration and recognition of many by winning the esteemed NAWIC NSW Crystal Vision Award in 2022.

Not content just to shine in her own right, Miranda has created opportunities to support aspiring female engineers too.

Whilst navigating her own steep journey Miranda has carved out time and capacity to help others just like herself, truly embodying the NAWIC mantra “we rise together”

In this episode, we are fortunate to delve into Miranda’s journey that brought her into the world of engineering, her insights on what it is like coming from a regional town and the significant experiences that have propelled her to become an innovator. Grab the tissues and be prepared with be filled with hope and admiration.

Miranda’s pledge focuses on using her platform to support young women entering the industry and empowering them to achieve new heights.

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Rebecca Hanley is the dynamic Managing Director at Laing O’Rourke.

Like most women in construction, Rebecca’s path hasn’t been linear, and in that journey lies her superpower! Bringing to the table a diverse mix of start-up and big corporate, industrial, product and retail, Rebecca is candid about what it takes to lead one our Australia’s largest construction companies.

At the heart of Rebecca’s determination and passion is her mission to create a better world. Straddling each of the continents, armed with a CPA, an MBA and fluency in multiple language, Rebecca’s passion is a force to be reckoned with.

Her experience ranges navigating the intricacies of construction to her role as a guiding force at Laing O’Rourke. Rebecca’s story serves as a testament to determination, leadership and an intrinsic passion for creating a better world. Her mantra: “Cognitive diversity gives you better results, better responses, better decision making and more holistic leadership styles.”

Buckle up as in this episode we delve into the moments that have shaped Rebecca’s career – the good times and those big learning experiences. We explore the obstacles she overcame and how she built personal resilience. We will examine how Rebecca’s vision has transformed Laing O’Rourke into a key player in the regions construction industry.

Rebecca pledges to be part of the cultural change and be a diversity leader.

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Emma has spent her previous chapter as Head of Community for Gininderry – an exemplar project, a joint government and industry initiative to attract and retain women in construction. As she launches into her own business “The Umbrella Project” Emma reflects that industry associations have a real role to play. Her own experience in the ACT stems from building a pipeline for women in construction, to recruit and retain new talent in the industry.

NAWIC and the Office for Women obtained a grant to develop a curriculum-based model to develop the pipeline for women in construction. Targeted at years 7-10, the program included learning about construction, diving into gender equality, focusing on the industry and exploring a wide range of roles including ‘Try a Trade’ experiences and work experiencing and mentoring. 110 young women,

in year 9 and 10, related to people in industry and given work experience, providing exposure and creating change.

Emma says the magic wand would be getting industry to sponsor a ten-year curriculum and career development program. She pledges to keep talking and building the momentum around women’s participation in construction.

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Kerry started her career as a Marine Biologist working in the ports and shipping industry. Today she is GHD’s General Manager for South Australia and the NAWIC National Award winner for 2022.

Kerry discusses how it’s not easy to get into construction and students don’t often get to see the rewarding opportunities available to them when they are in that ‘dating game’ exploring career options.

Busting common myths Kerry dives into the subject of menstruation and childbearing: this does not denigrate women’s capability to do their jobs. Physical ability needs to go into the back-room Kerry shares. People are now being seen for their technical capability and working with their heads. Kerry urges “Don’t discriminate our opportunity, instead let’s have a conversation and fix the environment”. Similarly, Kerry says don’t mistake ‘heat in a conversation’ for a hormonal issue, rather let’s consider why someone is passionate.

Her observations of the construction industry over her career span from male dominance, conflict and isolation, and the shift to environments to improved work practices and people being seen for the capabilities they bring. There is work to be done; from improving mentoring and intentional action through having role models to observe. Sharing stories is important to help create a new generation of people in industry.

Kerry’s pledge is to bring her voice, to open up the conversation, and to share her journey so people can see what’s possible.

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Christina had her heart set on becoming an Architect. When a University Careers Counselor saw she had Physics and Maths subjects she was offered a scholarship for Engineering that was too compelling to refuse. She now loves the diversity of her career and reflects on the significant improvements that she has observed in the industry.

On creating cultural shift in construction, change happens from the top. Boldly calling upon government to implement targets and quotas, Christina says this is important because it starts conversation. It’s a catalyst for business to do better, to not only attract but retain women.

“Let’s be very clear,” Christina says, about bullying and gender bias: “It’s not ok, never was ok, never will be ok.”

On confronting sexist comments Christina is often met with “It’s just a phrase”. Christina doesn’t back down and there is no bystander effect for her. She calls it out, urges us all to do the same and tell people to find another way to express themself. Christina says we all can be the tiny steps toward cultural shift.

In her career Christina now feels empowered, and she feels much more confident to speak up. She observes people are much more aware of the misconceptions that women can’t do a lot of trade roles. Advances in technology mean ‘it’s no longer ok to be out there on your own lifting 50kg’. Safety is for all people. Now the work environment has changed so much, it’s safer for everyone.

On getting to 25% participation by 2025 Christina says all organisations need to look at what they are doing and do better. She encourages women to be more visible, be louder!

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When she graduated from Uni, like many Aussies, Paula got a backpack and a one-way ticket out. Paula found herself doing her Construction Law Apprenticeship in California and then the UK where she was most often the only woman in her workplace. Once mistaken onsite for a stripper, Paula is now a highly respected Professor at Monash university and a sought-after spokesperson in both the construction and legal industries.

Upon her return to Australia Paula sought about creating a local chapter of NAWIC to build her tribe. She called every woman who’d ever picked up a hammer and had over 100 women in the room to discuss the creation of a community of women in construction! 28 years on we have over 10,000 members in NAWIC.

One of the things that struck Paula in the beginning that so many men were keen to join. Why? Because it’s the only association that spans the whole of industry in Australia.

Cognitive Diversity is Paula’s term that describes the antidote to group think. You get a much more holistic and different approaches to solve problems, and that’s one of the key reasons we need to encourage more women and greater diversity in construction, Paula says.

Paula has carved out a career in both law and academia where she now has the research to prove what she always knew; greater diversity delivers great commercial outcomes. Being sexualised or treated in a paternalistic way has been the hardest part for Paula. Often, she has observed the perception was she couldn’t understand construction. Mansplaining through an analogy with baking has been a common occurrence for Paula; unconscious bias that you are not equal, women must prove their intelligence, repeatedly.

Paula says try and find your tribe at the start of your community. Find other people to connect with and who can support you both professionally and personally: visit https://nawic.com.au/NAWIC/NAWIC/Membership

If anything raised in this episode has been triggering for you please connect with the NAWIC Member Assistance Program. We have mental health experts on standby 24 x 7 to support our members on 1300 878 379.

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In this podcast we will be exploring the challenges and opportunities related to gender diversity in the construction industry. Women make up only 13% of workers in the construction industry, but at the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), we are determined to change this statistic.

We have a goal to increase female representation in the industry to 25% by 2025.

To get there it's not just about recruiting more women, we need to shift the culture within the industry. Creating an environment that not only attracts women but also supports and retains them.

Join Lauren Fahey, the host of 'The Leaky Pipeline' and General Manager of NAWIC Australia as she discusses the challenges, opportunities and what it means to be a change maker.

In this podcast series, you'll hear from women with a range of experiences in the construction industry, who share the difficulties, the assumptions, and their thoughts on how we make construction a more diverse and inclusive workplace and why that's a good thing for everyone.

'The Leaky Pipeline' is a Broad Generation Production.

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