OUR PEOPLE —
Celebrating women in construction Being female in a male-driven world is not often the easiest task. Having to challenge the traditional assumptions and stereotypes associated with the building industry, overcome self-doubt,and prove yourself over and over again are just some of the issues faced by women on a daily basis in the industry. To celebrate our female builders for the diversity they bring, the challenges they overcome, and to inspire and encourage others, New Zealand Certified Builders (NZCB) asked our three female NZCB members to share more about their experiences.
Niamh Short Meet Niamh Short. Niamh is Irish but grew up in France. She moved to Wellington in 2001 with her husband and their three children. Niamh and her business partner started Windy City Builders in 2018. They currently employ two apprentices and focus on renovations and extensions.
Was building your first career choice? No! I studied psychology and was going to follow that path. But I met a New Zealander on his overseas trip, and we came to live in Wellington together. When we had children, I chose to stay at home to be with them until our youngest was six years old.
What inspired you to become a builder? In my stay-at-home years, I was always a do-er. I would have ideas of what we or the kids needed, and I would go about making it. I would look in the shops, but nothing was ever exactly right, so I taught myself to make things. I started by making small things, like a coat stand, drawers, bookshelves, a wood box, benches, a doll’s house, tiled splashback. One day, my husband came home from work to find the children’s room stripped of linings! I learnt to gib with my father-in-law who used to be a builder and fostered my interest. I had to borrow tools from my brothers-in-law and lean on my father-in-law for building advice. We then had an extension put on our house. The builder saw my interest and encouraged it, allowing me to be involved in small ways at first. Eventually, I was inducted on the drop saw and cut all the purlins while they were on the rafters. I helped lay the floorboards, lifted ceiling sheets of gib, and installed and nailed off weatherboards. By the end of the project, the builder had given me a hand-me-down toolbelt and offered me a job!
When did you become trade qualified and where? I did labouring in his company for about six months before deciding to sign up for an apprenticeship. From the beginning, he was keen for me to become an apprentice, but for me, this was a huge step. It meant I was committing to being in the trades, and was that something stay-at-home mums did?
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I hesitated for a long time because it felt outlandish to want this job. In the end, I signed up because I loved being on-site. I loved the physicality, the camaraderie and banter, the creativity, and with the apprenticeship I was paid while gaining a qualification. In the end it was a no-brainer to continue doing what I liked while learning. I trained with BCITO and qualified in 2018.
What are some of the challenges you have faced over the years to become a builder? My first challenge was myself; I didn’t believe a stay-at-home mum could or should be a builder. I felt like an imposter! I worked so hard to prove myself, much more than I needed to. I had to be more valuable than any of the boys because there was a voice in my head saying this wasn’t my place. Eventually that voice got quieter. One challenge I loved was the learning. I had to learn a whole new set of vocabulary, learn how to use tools that I didn’t know existed, and continually take in new information. Some days in my apprenticeship, I just wanted to be told to dig a trench, so I wouldn’t have to think! There are some assumptions and behaviours that are mildly challenging. These are small insidious things that prove society hasn’t quite adapted to having more women on building sites. For instance, most newcomers to site will assume I am the builder’s wife, the “admin lady”, the client, or designer. I can be standing on a ladder holding a rafter in one hand and a nail gun in the other, looking, talking and behaving like a builder, but I couldn’t simply just BE a builder!
