Tomorrow’s Women in Construction (TWIC) was founded by Kat Kister and Isabel Duffy in Sydney.

“The desire to change towards a more gender equitable workplace is palpable in the industry. In the last couple of years, we went from yearly repeating the same questions on International Women’s Day to actively reaching out and opening our doors to young women to introduce the industry,” says Kister.

“For Australia’s biggest work experience, we had nearly 50 companies in sign up for the initiative in the first week after lodgement and all of them are excitedly preparing for the students this September.”

With a background in architecture, engineering, building and project management, Kister and Duffy’s goal was clear: Helping girls make informed choices about their careers by sharing over 100 real stories.

“We believe that the construction industry has had a make-over, and we want to help do the big reveal. Our stories come from a huge range of relatable women from diverse backgrounds - from crane operators through to CFOs - who are passionate about what they do, and are making an impact,” says the TWIC team.

“We're not your traditional outreach program - we're made by the industry, for the industry, leveraging technology to shift the dial on the number of girls choosing careers in construction. Our platform is searchable, engaging, and integrated with social media. Help us reach even more girls by sharing it with your network.”

TWIC’s purpose is simple: They are here to break down two of the main reasons girls aren’t choosing construction careers, namely a lack of awareness of construction-related opportunities, and a lack of self-alignment.

“A very stubborn myth is that construction only happens on site. Most people are not aware that the construction site is the very last piece in a project life cycle,” says the TWIC team.

“Form inception, feasibility, planning and design, approval etc a project can easily be around for a decade before anyone ever steps foot into it. There are so many aspects of a construction project, and the careers involved in the development are so multifaceted that we are certain there is a place for everyone.”

To demonstrate that there is a place for every girl in the industry, the TWIC team created an engaging online platform that showcases career profiles of women across the construction industry in NSW, titled Tomorrow’s Women in Construction.

The aim is to engage with girls at the stage of choosing their career paths, to outline the full scope of careers available in the construction industry, and to inspire young minds to imagine themselves in these roles.

Marketing and outreach to high school girls occur via social media and school engagement.

“TWIC is made by the industry, for the industry. We realised the benefits that sustainable change towards gender equity will bring. Likewise, we realise that we as an industry need to unite our forces to bring about sustainable change,” says TWIC.

“As such we rallied 13 of the biggest industry players across architecture, engineering, project management, property development, planning and construction to unite forces and support out cause. The industry wants more girls to join the ranks and they are demonstrating that they are prepared to act.”

This year, TWIC offers a week of work experience for every interested girl aged 15-17, whether she's interested in quantity surveying, architecture, or carpentry. TWIC will collaborate with their industry partners and find them a spot to explore this career path.

“We provide a quiz to help narrow down the area of interest. Based on the results, we suggest possible career pathways and offer one week with a company that provides the appropriate experience,” TWIC says.

“The aim is to help break down perceived barriers for girls entering the industry and reduce the intimidation factor of having to personally approach a company. On the other hand, we coach companies to receive the girls with a warm welcome by providing ideas of age-appropriate tasks and preparing the mentors to guide the girls through the week.”

Applications are still open, more information here.

Image: TWIC Co-Founders Kat Kister and Isabel Duffy / supplied

Clémence Carayol

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