IF I CAN DO IT, ANYONE CAN by Jo Matai, Lendlease

IF I CAN DO IT, ANYONE CAN

by Jo Matai

Commercial Manager, Lendlease & NAWIC Chapter Education Committee Member (ACT)

My name is Jo Matai and I am a South African born, of Indian heritage, woman currently working within the construction management industry in Australia. It’s an absolute honour to contribute to The NAWIC Journal 25th Anniversary Edition. Thank you NAWIC for the opportunity and for sharing the common vision of having an equitable construction industry. My first contract deliverable within the construction industry dates back to 2013 where I worked for a subcontractor after completing my Diploma in Management. At the time I thought to myself, surely it will be OK for a South African Indian girl to work in the construction industry despite it not being the stereotypical ‘home maker’ role my culture imposes? After all, my mother and father immigrated to a first world country for better education, opportunity, freedom and safety, right? It was this point in my life that anything became possible and achievable in my mind. In 2013, the industry as a whole, accepted women the same way it accepted me. The industry actually became ‘accepting’ of women in the late 1800s when Florence Mary Taylor, who was born in 1879, became Australia’s first female architect after growing up assisting her father with his engineering calculations. However, accepting a person versus supporting and nurturing them to develop and succeed are two very different things. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, between 2019 and 2020, two-thirds of women aged 20–74 participated in the overall labour force. This is the highest rate Australia has seen in the past 10 years. We should congratulate ourselves and Australia on this, it is such a great achievement. Yet within the construction industry, we continue to represent a small 10-12% participation rate each year, with the second highest gender pay gap at 26.1%1. We, NAWIC, are choosing to challenge these current statistics. It never ceases to amaze me how we as women can be hitting a personal best in employment as a whole; yet be lacking so far within this one specific industry. You see, construction is an ever-evolving beast that makes the world go-around (I may be a little bias here). It creates a countless number of jobs worldwide, injecting millions into economies, providing homes for people to live in, hospitals to deliver medical care, shopping centres to provide groceries, parks for children to play in and the list goes on and on. Construction management is stressful, tiring and pressurising. It is also tremendously rewarding and personally fulfilling. Do you know how nice it is to walk away from a project and say, “yeah wow, I was a part of that?” Perhaps the participation rate of women within the construction industry would increase if women were aware of organisations that existed, such as NAWIC, that have members like myself, amongst many others, who are willing to provide a strong support structure and to mentor them throughout their careers. Does the next South African Indian girl, or any girl really, realise that working within this industry is even a possibility and that NAWIC and its members strongly advocate not only for participation but also for diversity? I hope so, because I ended up academically qualified in Management (Diploma), Construction (Degree) and Law (Degree - in progress), now employed in a commercial management role, with on-site experience across two states working successfully for some of Australia’s best commercial builders on a great range of projects. If I can do it, anyone can do it. NAWIC, the extended Committee Members and I are here to support and facilitate this process for anyone willing to give it a shot, at any point in time. Happy 25th Birthday NAWIC!

1. WGEA 2020, Australia’s Gender Equality Scorecard – Key Results from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s 2019-2020 Reporting Data, WGEA, <https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2019-20%20Gender%20Equality%20Scorecard_FINAL.pdf>