Guest speakers Morgan Parris, Jessica McFarlane, Samantha Caldwell and Rachel Whiting spoke of their experiences working in male-dominated fields at the Rise and Build Launch earlier this week. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
Up to 250 women in the Riverina Murray region are set to be trained in male-dominated industries with a high demand for skilled workers, in areas such as energy, construction and manufacturing.
The training program Rise and Build will be provided through a partnership between the Federal Government and 12 Riverina-Murray-based businesses, and a $1 million investment.
Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles made the announcement during a visit to Wagga Wagga earlier this week.
The minister met with many female industry workers about the challenges and requirements they face in male-dominated workforces. Among them was Morgan Parris, who has been working as an apprentice linesperson with engineering company Zinfra.
Ms Parris was one of four guest speakers who spoke as part of a panel at the Rise & Build – Building Women’s Careers Project Launch and spoke about her experiences working in male-dominated careers.
“One of the biggest perceptions that I encountered when I first started was, you know, guys would say to me, ‘Oh, like, I’ve never worked with women before, they don’t normally want to do these roles,” she said.
“Personally, I don’t think that’s true. We just don’t know about the availability of these positions.
“We’ve never had that exposure to have the choice to choose to go into these industries. Women who work in these fields, we want to change the perception that women can’t do these roles just because there’s never been a woman seen doing it.
“I feel incredibly honoured to be able to be here and to take part in this. Because I don’t know how many people would have ever seen a female transmission line worker, but maybe there’s somebody out there who this is the right pathway for them, and they might look into it after this, and it’s incredibly important.”
Ms Parris said she had gone through many challenges in her short career, including some that people might not even think about.
“One of the biggest challenges was actually around the workwear,” she said.
“I almost didn’t take one of the best opportunities in my working career because I couldn’t find proper pants or workwear that was going to fit me properly. That in itself is just crazy.
“The stigma is changing, and I think that the more women that get into these industries, the more it disproves the stigma that women can’t physically do these roles, because we’re great at these roles.
“We’re not the same as a man, so we have to think and do things differently. So sometimes we have to work smarter, which is fabulous, because that gives a different outcome and different possibilities.”
For more information on Building Women’s Career projects, visit: www.dewr.gov.au/building-womens-careers-program
