Calfordseaden: Hard Hats & Hot Topics IWD Special!

Three of our talented female colleagues got together and discussed their personal experiences as women in the construction industry in our Hard Hats + Hot Topics podcast International Women’s Day special! Alison Hann (Building Surveying Partner), Suhur Diriye (Health and Safety Consultant), and Vicky Kyriacou (Senior Mechanical Engineer) reflect on their maternity experiences, surprises they experienced when joining the sector, and giving back early in your career.

What still needs to change culturally and structurally for women in construction?

Vicky: “I think a lot of positive things have happened over the past 10 years. I’ve seen some good changes, but I think culturally and structurally there’s still a lot to be done for women in construction. For example, I’ve come back recently from maternity leave full-time, working four days a week with using the fifth day as annual leave. It was a colleague’s idea to do it this way and calfordseaden have been great throughout the entire process. I’ve not had any responsibilities taken away from me and they have been understanding with the fact that I’ve had to leave on time!”

Alison: “Personally, I had a terrible experience coming back from maternity leave at my previous company. My son is 11 years old so it was quite a long time ago, but they didn’t understand how I could fit in. I went from being quite a valuable asset to being made to feel like I was a problem. That was really hard for me, I only went back two days a week, but they weren’t prepared to make it work and I was left to do site visits that weren’t related to my role as a Building Surveyor. I carried on and got on with it because it filled the day, but it wasn’t a good experience and resulted in me leaving the company, which was quite sad because I’d been there for nine years.”

What surprised you most when you entered the sector?

Suhur: “I would say how broad the construction industry is. There’s so many different types of roles that I didn’t know about. What’s fascinating is that they all work together and it’s very much a collaborative industry. People on the outside might think it’s very independent when you work in construction, but you need to have the skill of working in a cohesive team.”

Alison: “What surprised me is the overlap of the roles, we all do a little bit of everyone else’s roles. Whilst it’s great having all the different disciplines, you do need to have a vague understanding of other roles. That was a bit surprising for me at the beginning because I thought I’d just be looking at damp and mould – I mean I do look a lot at damp and mould – but I also do Project Management, I’ve designed playgrounds alongside Architects, which I never thought I would do.”

What does giving back look like early in your career?

Suhur: “For me, it’s giving your time and effort into your projects. It does feel rewarding because your colleagues see how hard you’ve worked. I’d also say giving your support to a colleague going through a difficult situation, which in turn can benefit the whole team.”

Vicky: “I don’t think you need to be senior or have extensive experience to give back to colleagues. As soon as you see someone struggling or someone wants exposure but they’re not receiving it, you can always guide them however early in your career. Especially for women, I think it’s great to see that level of mentorship happening at every level.”

YouTube link to full episode - https://youtu.be/-31MeZ6fmW4