Scholarship 2022 Winner – Gabrielle French

CHAIR PERSON’S FOREWORD

As NAWIC wraps up its 27th year in Australia it is important that we take a look at all the fantastic achievements of the people in the construction industry who are making waves and implementing real change. Australia has pulled through a global pandemic and construction is pushing on despite labour shortages and major supply chain issues. Builders and subcontractors everywhere are desperately trying to find more staff in order to keep up with the huge demand of work. While the numbers of women taking on construction roles is increasing, until significant changes are made in workplace and industry culture and equal opportunities, the number of women leaving the industry will also continue to increase leaving us in the exact same position. Some businesses are setting a fantastic example and implementing great initiatives and making a real change to culture, recruitment and paid parental leave. It is my hope that by sharing knowledge, experiences and stories of resilience and success between organisations and businesses, more progress will continue to be made. According to the ABS in 2022 13% of the construction industry are female identifying; 11% in managerial, professional services and admin, only a staggering 2% in trades. There is much work to be done with both industry and government to achieve our goal of 25% participation by 2025. At the start of 2020 NAWIC was able to partner with the University of Queensland Business School and the Australian Gender Equality Council (AGEC) to conduct a nationwide survey to determine how this pandemic impacted the people of Australia. The report, which was published this year, makes 13 recommendations which include more accessible early childcare, flexible and hybrid working, mental health support, parental leave entitlements and addressing gender role stereotypes. When implemented, the recommendations will help to rectify the impacts of the pandemic and eliminate gender imbalances to create more equitable culture that will only aid to strengthen the entire country going forward. In early 2022, NAWIC launched its own survey to see what the pressure points are for women in construction. The survey revealed that 82% of participants strongly agree or agree that the role of women in construction is changing for the better. 73% strongly agree or agree that they feel respected and valued as much as their colleagues. Whilst these figures are a step in the right direction, there is still a long way to go for women in the construction industry. 48% of participants stated they have received inappropriate or unwanted attention from colleagues during their career and 73% have experienced gender-based adversity within their construction career. NAWIC membership is now sitting at over 9,000 members in Australia. I feel so honoured to be part of an association that is full of individuals and organisations who want to improve the culture of construction. Without the hard work of our members and volunteers NAWIC would not be what it is today and we definitely would not be able to continue to push forward in changing our industry. Thank you to everyone for their contribution no matter how big or small. With the addition of 5 new directors to the NAWIC Board at the 2021 NAWIC AGM there has been an incredible amount of momentum and drive with many new national initiatives being able to be rolled out with the assistance of our national team as they also support the ever growing chapters. I would like to take this opportunity to thank outgoing directors Kristine Scheul and Miriam D’Souza for their dedication to NAWIC not only at Board level over the last 5 years but also for the many years of hard work as volunteers at chapter level. You are both passionate advocates for women in construction and your push for an equitable industry is tremendous. Through our three key pillars, advocacy, education, community and connections, NAWIC strives to support all women in construction from tradespeople on the tools every day to project managers trying to deliver projects, construction lawyers negotiating complicated contracts, general managers looking ahead at the challenges within their business and young undergraduate students who may feel overwhelmed by their choice to join the construction industry. We all know the challenges of the construction industry, and yet despite this, I have met so many people who just love being part of construction, myself included. I would never take back my decision to be a part of this industry. Working as a team, knowing the ins and outs of a project that the general public will never get to experience and being able to walk past a job and say, I was part of that, brings me so much joy. I hope that we will all be able to share our love of the industry with many more young women and men as the industry continues to grow and become more flexible, inclusive, supportive and in line with the times.

The general sentiment of the construction industry is that we know what needs to happen. We know the stats and figures and we know that making these changes will not only help to make construction better for women but it will also improve conditions for everyone involved in the industry. The time for talking is over. It is time to take action and to rise together!

Christina Yiakkoupis

Chair Person, NAWIC

GENERAL MANAGER’S FOREWORD

As I reflect on this year’s achievements and progress I am filled with happiness and pride. The last year saw our biggest membership growth in 27 years. NAWIC proudly represented over 7,000 individual members and 200 corporate members during the FY21/22. To our new and returning members a very warm and heartfelt welcome. Without the support of our members, sponsors, dedicated volunteers and our wonderful staff, NAWIC would cease to exist.

We have had some significant changes over the past year that has aided our continued success. The launch and implementation of our new membership & pricing structure was a huge task and I would like to thank all involved in the membership change. A lot of consultation and work went into the planning, together with a significant software deployment to allow this change to occur. Another significant project was the introduction of a new organisational structure that enabled NAWIC to hire internal staff to support our volunteers and membership base operationally. We are extremely proud of the work being done by the operations team and are excited about the future growth of the association.

Many of you will be familiar with our mission for #25by2025. I recall sitting in the strategy meeting, where 25% of women in construction by 2025 was born and feeling a sense of pride that NAWIC would set the tone and goal for the construction industry. We know that real cultural change happens when female representation exceeds 30% in any given organization. Currently we are sitting at an average 13% in Australia and we know that striving for 25% seems like a huge task. If we work together as an industry and all do our part in achieving this goal the target will become achievable. We all need to commit to achieving more equality, inclusion and diversity in the construction industry, as well as changing the culture that currently taints the industry and leads to a leaky pipeline. By removing the entrenched cultural barriers through programs such as our Male Allies, it will improve the perception of the industry encouraging more young females to enter and remain in the industry.

Through the work of our amazing volunteers NAWIC held over 160 events which welcomed over 7,000 guests and awarded 75 wonderful people who are excelling in their field of work. Congratulations to all our nominees and award winners. We are extremely proud to have awarded over $60,000 in scholarships and grants nationally and donated over $19,000 to various charities throughout the year.

We are looking forward to another huge year and I am confident that we will build a better industry by working together. #werisetogether

Lauren Fahey

General Manager, NAWIC