Women are signing up to the "tradie-led recovery" in droves, as the upcoming boom in construction draws more female workers into traditionally male-dominated industries.
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Architect Gioia Gianniotis said many female-dominated sectors such as retail and hospitality had been badly hit by the COVID shutdown, but that the construction industry had shown no sign of slowing down.
"This is a really good moment for us to encourage more women into the industry, using COVID as an inspiration for change and to entice more women into these roles," Mrs Gianniotis said.
"It was already happening before, but COVID has given us all a push towards flexible work arrangements - it's now all about job sharing and flexibility."
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When she started in the industry 20 years ago Mrs Gianniotis was used to being the only woman in high-vis on the work site, but says that times are rapidly changing.
These days she is seeing more female project managers, engineers consultants, administrators, and even the occasional female tradie.
Her protégé Camilla Paradice has been learning the tools of the trade as an architectural graduate, and she said there had been plenty of work to go around even during lockdown.
While in the past the trend saw few female graduates ending up breaking into the construction industry, Ms Paradice said many of her peers had managed to break the epoxy resin ceiling.
"There seems to be quite a few women coming through now and going all the way, doing their masters, and coming out the other end, which is good to see," Ms Paradice said.
"For me, even at school I've had architecture in mind, and I've always been a problem solver. I was always drawn to it."
Builder Wayne Carter said there was a unmet demand for skilled tradies, particularly tilers and excavators, and that more women in the industry would be a welcome addition.
"The only thing that's keeping a lot of girls out of the trades is the fact that it always has been men, but times are a-changing," Mr Carter said.
"Women can be just as capable as man are."