I set out to build a house using only female tradies. Here’s why I failed!
Would you believe women make up only 2% of those working in the construction industry?
You probably would believe it, considering how rare it is to come across a female plumber or carpenter!
Even architecture, which has come a long way over the years, is still far from equal and virtually every female architect has a horror story (or many) about their experiences in the industry. The lack of representation of women in the construction industry is recognised as a serious problem that reduces economic productivity and constrains innovative capacity.
“Greater diversity makes our workplaces stronger. Greater representation of women in construction will benefit everyone in the industry.”
But change doesn’t just happen. Often, a solid prod is required before things start moving in the right direction. So, rather than hiss and boo from beneath the scaffolding, I decided to do something about it.
I’d been designing a new home for ourselves, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to pull together an all-female team for both the design and construction. If there are only 2% of women in the construction industry, I wanted them all working on my house!
So, I began scouring the interwebs for potential consultants and tradeswomen.
Instagram proved to be a fertile gathering ground, I connected with builders and carpenters, a plumber, painters, a landscape architect and a waterproofer. It felt like things were off to a good start and my dream team was coming together.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, finding female consultants was pretty straightforward. While still nowhere near gender parity, the consulting suites of engineers, building surveyors and energy raters are more well-trodden turf for women in construction. After discussing with many friends and colleagues I put together a healthy list of female consultants to turn to for project advice.
And while I’d made some good connections online, the dream of lining up a team of suitably-qualified lady tradies who were actually able to start work on our home this decade was quickly evaporating.
This tells me two things:
Lady tradies are in demand. It’s hardly surprising that with women spearheading many new home and renovation projects, they might be keen to work with women onsite, too.
The supply of young women entering the construction industry (or, potentially staying in the industry) is simply not keeping up with demand. We’ve got a supply chain issue on our hands, ladies!
So, ultimately, I haven’t been able to create my all-female dream team. My #squadgoals.
I failed.
And, look, my screen time stats will attest it’s not for lack of trying.
But, and this is a hopeful but: I have made some incredible professional connections with a crew of fabulous (and fabulously talented) women who I continue to work with on other projects. I’ve put together an extensive list of lady tradies and consultants in Melbourne (which you can download for yourself, here) and you’d better bet I’m going to keep adding to the list (send through any recommendations you have, please).
It’s hard feeling like an outsider in a male-dominated industry. So I think we should do our best to support women in the construction industry as much as possible. Women have so much to contribute in this and every industry and diversity makes every industry stronger. So, get out there and hire a lady tradie. Encourage young women to get involved in the construction industry.
My dream of assembling an all-women team of tradies will be a reality in the not-too-distant future, I’m sure of it.