DECLINING – Here’s How to Turn It Around

How does Diversity & Inclusion fit with teaching and mentoring?

Like a hand in a glove.

There is still a huge way to go to break the binary construct and normalise human diversity. Sharing my life experience and being visible is what I hope to contribute to our change journey. I articulate and welcome discussion with my students about D&I.

Diversity being how every person identifies with any variety of personal attributes and characteristics, and the respect for and appreciation of these qualities.

Inclusion refers to the ability and willingness of all people in the workplace to fully contribute, collaborate and be engaged with everyone.

Diversity and inclusion add knowledge and strength to society in all aspects of our lives.

EQUALITY is everyone getting a pair of shoes.

DIVERSITY is everyone getting a different type of shoe.

EQUITY is everyone getting a pair of shoes that fits.

ACCEPTANCE is understanding we all wear different kids of shoes.

INCLUSION & BELONGING

is wearing the shoes you want without fear of judgment. What can we do differently moving forward?

Being visibly inclusive creates big ripples; supporting those who need it most is crucial. No matter what you do in the construction industry we can all be respectful and inclusive, it takes no time and cost nothing.

One great example of D&I Leadership is that of Virgin Atlantic. They lead their industry by enabling staff to choose the uniform which they feel most comfortable in. Virgin Atlantic also provide the option for employee’s to choose their preferred pronouns for their name badges. Applications increased by 100% since the announcement.

Whether you are an educator, parent, mentor and/or leader, exposing the next generation to the world in all its beautiful diversity in positive way is invaluable, especially at an early age. An Ally is someone who stands up for, supports and encourages the people around them. It’s a term that gets used a lot in the LGBTQIA+ community and focuses on celebrating diversity and ensuring all people are safe to be there true selves. We can all be an Ally.

I am sure you have experienced it; actions matter and your actions matter. An employee or colleague who feels safe and part of the team is empowering and brings immense organisational value. By continuing to work together we can make our work and social lives welcoming and inclusive to all. We can share in the richness of knowledge and culture that social diversity has to offer.

MALE ALLY

PPTEU 2022 Award Inspired by NAWIC

This year the Plumbing and Pipe Trades Employees Union (PPTEU) in QLD came up with the initiative to recognize a Male Ally within the Plumbing Industry. This award was inspired by the National Association of Women in Construction’s Male Ally program. The PPTEU has been working closely with NAWIC since January, with Rian Kelso the Apprentice Program and Project Manager joining the NAWIC Women on Tools Committee. The relationship between the two organisations has been one that has taken off with a bang. Plumbing being a Male dominated trade the Union has seen a small change in the uptake of females in their industry. They’ve identified that it is time to tackle the attraction and retention of women in their trades, targeting the cultural shift required to see improvements in this area.

Introducing the Male Ally Award at the 2022 PPTEU Awards was one of the initiatives Rian from the PPTEU felt would bring attention to the need for supportive and inclusive male allies to the forefront. Recognizing males that support women in trades, was step one for the PPTEU QLD, in the education piece for their domain. Damian O’Sullivan the recipient of the Male Ally Award 2022, has been a supporter of women in trades and continues to demonstrate his passion for change in this space. Damian currently works for Multiplex on Queens Wharf; he is also the president for the PPTEU QLD. Damian was nominated to be awarded the Male Ally 2022 due to his passion for standing up for women in the workplace, his ongoing encouragement to women in leadership roles and the uptake of female apprentices within the Plumbing industry.

In a recent interview with Damian, he stated that he believes that training and education is the key to addressing the issues women face with working in the construction industry. Understanding what women face in the construction industry and then how to work with women in their very male dominated environment is key to the culture shift that is required to retain, attract and support women in construction industry. Damian shared insight about his own bias around women being able to be plumbers when he was younger. At the beginning of his trade as an apprentice, he was faced with his bias. A young women did her apprenticeship with Damian at TAFE, he was in the same class as her and happened to work in the same location up in Redcliffe. During their time at trade school there were many manual tasks that were required, one of which was to bend copper pipe. During this class, Damian could see his fellow female apprentice struggling with the task. She asked him if he would assist her to bend the copper pipe as she felt she wasn’t strong enough. He was quite upfront with her and said, “If you can’t bend the pipe in here at trade school how do you think you can qualify for a plumber out in the real world?” to that she said, “If I can’t bend it myself, I will buy the bend, problem solved.” It was at this stage Damian realised that there is always more than one way to do a task or a job. In Damian’s words, “I was very quickly put back in my box.”

Ruth Gunaseelan, Sheree Taylor, Rian Kelso, Carlie Low, Radmila Desic and Toni Hillman representing NAWIC at the PPTEU Awards.

The PPTEU QLD is a huge supporter and advocate for women in trades, seeing the Male Allies Program as an opportunity to educate the industry. In Damian’s interview he stated, “There are so many barriers that have been faced for women in male dominated industries, I believe that one of the first steps for our industry to break the barriers is Education, communication, and collaboration. Educating the workforce is the first step in understanding the barriers, then working together