NAWIC award winners announced!

The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) named the winners of its 11 Excellence Awards at Te Pae, Christchurch Convention Centre in August, in categories including Excellence in Construction Administration and Apprentice Excellence

An all-time high of 238 entries in this year’s awards indicated a positive trend in the participation of women within the industry, said NAWIC Awards Director Stacey Mendonça.  

“The number of entries for the NAWIC Awards this year has proved a positive shift in attitude within construction. We were thrilled with the overwhelming response from the industry in our new record of NAWIC Award nominees,” said Mendonça.

“It is really encouraging to hear and see the amazing roles and impacts women in our industry continue to pursue, be passionate about and excel in,” said judge Linda Kestle.

Thirty-seven judges and five moderators were tasked with trimming the 238 entrants down to a shortlist from which the eventual winners were selected.

Tireless advocate

The premier award of the event is the Helen Tippett Award. Tippett was a pioneer for women in the construction industry and instrumental in establishing NAWIC.

The award was presented to Fletcher Living’s Branch Manager Aurelie Le Gall for her role in supporting the advancement of women in the construction industry.

“I chair the Equality Network, Fletcher Building’s Action Group for gender diversity. When I started at Fletcher Living North, we had no female construction Site Managers, but now there are three. I also volunteer as a coach and mentor outside of my busy day job,” Le Gall explained.

Another area in which Le Gall has played a key role is Fletcher Living’s BUILDhers Project, a home “planned, designed, built, marketed, and sold, to the last nail – entirely by women”.

“We’re really excited about it,” said Le Gall. “It’s about normalising the presence of women on a construction site as tradeswomen as well as female leaders.”

Proud mentor

Nicky Leman from Fletcher Construction took home the Outstanding Leader of the Year – Site Award. Nicky has been in the industry for more than 20 years and is proud to be someone that other women can turn to for advice.

“You can see that some females in construction can be reserved and unsure of themselves, because they’re in a male-dominated industry,” said Leman. “I want people to hear me and I want to instill that attitude in the females I mentor. I want to show them that their opinions matter and they can make a difference. 

“Women need to know the world is their oyster and you don’t have to be a stay-at-home mum, unless you want to of course!”

Important support network

Ella Star was one of two Tradeswoman of the Year winners and believes that NAWIC is playing a key role in supporting women in the industry.

“You can’t be what you can’t see and the more I can advertise what I’m doing, and the more organisations like NAWIC spread the world, the easier it will be for future generations – I hope!” said Star.

“I also see really nice examples of people in the public supporting women in trades. For example, one woman specifically hired me to do a job, because she wanted her son to see that women can do anything.”

Star runs her own business – Plumberella – in Christchurch, and says that being her own boss wasn’t a specific career goal for her; it arose from an opportunity that presented itself during a move from Auckland to the South Island, which she decided to grab.

“I’d had experience working with payroll and stock management before I got into the trades, so it wasn’t too much of a leap for me on that side of things, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision to back myself! The positive response has been overwhelming.”

Visibility matters

The mentorship and development opportunities provided through NAWIC, and the group events that evenings like the awards provide, proved useful to Student Excellent Award winner Olivia Kieser.

“On my first internship, I was one of two women on a site of up to 100 people. It was only through NAWIC that I was able to meet other female engineers, as role models, which I don’t think I’d have had the chance to do without the organisation bringing us together.”

Olivia is now in her fourth and final year of a civil engineering degree at the University of Auckland and was nominated for the award by staff at Downer, where she is currently working part-time.

“My boss said the work I’d done on cost escalation, and the development of a cost escalation tool to price a certain amount of risk into our projects, was impressive and the reason I was nominated for the award.

“I didn’t expect to win, so it was an awesome feeling to hear my name read out!”

A sense of community

PlaceMakers Pukekohe Account Manager Rowena Massey took home the Excellence in Construction Administration award – an achievement she puts down to her outlook on life.

“I see my role as keeping my builders happy, while also creating a connection between myself, my work and the community,” said Massey.

“Pukekohe is a small town, where work and personal lives tie into each other, so I think it’s really important to be supportive.”

Massey said she always looks to get the best outcome for builders and their clients, while supporting women along the way.

“Being female in the industry is hard. I always try to make sure to bring other females through and give them the confidence to know they can add value to any business in the industry.”

The awards evening was “humbling but special”, said Massey, who also praised the organisation for a job well done.

“NAWIC put on an amazing evening and made people feel very welcome and special. All finalists were presented with a pounamu. It’s a night I’ll never forget.“   

Find out more about NAWIC by visiting nawic.org.nz .