Today is International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate inclusivity for women.
#ChooseToChallenge is this year’s theme, where it focuses on our individual agency to be responsible for our thoughts and actions.
We can all collectively choose to create an inclusive world. This year, we shine the spotlight on few of our employees across the business for International Women’s Day.
Fredon CEO Scott Olsen shared a message on International Women’s Day-
In an industry where women have long been – and remain – underrepresented, we have a responsibility to increase women’s participation and develop teams that more accurately reflect the society in which we live.
There is a long way to go but we can start by putting the spotlight on some of the women within Fredon. Today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate the achievements of women in our business such as Jane Taylor, Forest Heng, Wing Ko and Nikaela Williams. Thank you for sharing your ideas, experiences and advice.
– Scott Olsen, Fredon CEO
Forest Heng, Electrical Engineer
Forest Heng is a talented and innovative Electrical Engineer who has been working on the containment designments for the Central Station Metro project for the past year.
Her commitment to her work is driven by passion and pride.
“The beauty of working in the building services industry is that you get see the technology and upgraded services help people to have better and more efficient working and living environments.”
“Seeing a project progress from a construction site, which is quite dirty and dusty, to an end product and completed project is quite impressive. There’s a sense of satisfaction when you walk past a building or a piece of work that you spent countless hours on, you feel really proud to have been part of that.”
Jane Taylor, NSW HSEQ Manager
A 12-year career in the construction industry has seen Jane’s career in HSEQ evolve organically. Even with the positive progress emerging in the industry, there is still a long way to go.
“It is great to see a lot of construction businesses placing women front and centre. However it’s still difficult being a female in the construction industry. Sometimes you feel like you have to work twice as hard when it shouldn’t be that way. And when you do get past that hurdle and prove that you are equally as knowledgeable, you still get challenged day to day.”
Her advice for women aspiring to join the industry?
“Don’t give up. If you’re passionate about it, don’t give up. Just keep chipping away at it because you will get there at the end of the day. And back yourself. If you know what you know, back yourself.”
Nikaela Williams, Project Coordinator
The campaign theme for IWD 2021 is Choose to Challenge, meaning we can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements and collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world. From challenge comes change, and Nikaela challenges the gender norms on construction sites.
“It should be normal to have more women on site. If we can normalise that then there doesn’t need to be that disparity”
“The construction industry is a male dominated field, but I’m finding it more accepting each day. I think as the younger generation comes through they are more accepting of this progression and it won’t be such an odd thing to see a female sparky or a female plumber on site in 5 to 10 years. It would be totally normal.”
Nikaela Williams is a Project Coordinator in Fredon Technology and has worked her way up from a Trainee role in just 3 years.
Wing Ko, Electrical Engineer
Wing Ko is an Electrical Engineer at Fredon, who recently completed the lighting designs on the Walsh Bay Redevelopment, in a role that involved meeting both the commercial and creative demands of a large number of stakeholders.
She is encouraging of women looking to enter the industry as an engineer, and her advice for others is based on advice she received from a female colleague.
“Being assertive and staying true to your values will help to get your point across. I also find it helps to have mentors and managers who are supportive, understand and believe in you and your ideas.”
