On a late summer Friday afternoon in 2025, I attended a Women in Trades event, hosted by Bowens. You may not have heard of Bowens because unlike the other blue hardware store, they mostly sell to trade customers. But Bowens is at the leading edge of a push for gender equality in the building and construction industry, and this was one way they contribute to the much-needed change.
At that Women in Trades event, I won the prestigious Margaret Hickey Award, which “celebrates female trailblazers who are reshaping the building industry through leadership, resilience, and innovation”. I was honoured beyond belief to be recognised for the work She Bangs has been doing these past years. I have faced so many barriers entering a (sometimes) unwelcoming industry. Not just the obvious bias and stereotypes about women on the tools, but the more subtle traditions of a deeply conservative industry that prefers to do things like they’ve always been done. Me and my business have never been ‘traditional’.
The judges were impacted by my story of struggle and resilience; and when they shared it with the audience of hundreds of other amazing women in construction, many of those people came up to me afterwards to say they too were inspired. It was so humbling. I haven’t really told my story publicly before, so this is a great opportunity to share it now. I hope it gives women reading it a flicker of optimism to extinguish the feelings of doubt and defeat on your own journey.
Mid career, in my mid-40s, I saw the push by industry and the Victorian government to get more women into trades. I took notice of the opportunities espoused, and jumped in, mid-COVID to undertake simultaneous TAFE studies – a Cert IV in Building & Construction in the day, and a Cert II Pre-apprenticeship in Carpentry at night. I gave up a secure, well-paid office job to take up the tools. It was a hard slog to get course places, to get funding for those places, and then battle through 3 successive lockdowns. I was all-in on the fast track (mature age student starting over means less time to waste).
I had to defer carpentry due to those COVID delays, and in-between I’d started working with women to introduce them to trades, using tools, and D-I-Y. After graduating Cert IV, I tried to find work in the building industry – I offered to volunteer, I helped on community builds, I took up adjacent labouring jobs to get a foot in the door, I applied a myriad of construction office jobs. My applications went nowhere. I’m middle-aged after all, and came from a professional background. So, I finished my outstanding carpentry units at another TAFE, struggling in an environment designed for and tailored to 18 year old boys, and not at all fit for a highly capable, older woman with financial obligations.
After graduating, I went on the road to get experience on-site, and learning from as many sources as possible. I taught workshops to women up the east coast to provide exposure and confidence using tools – they need pathways to trades! The appetite for women to get handy was enormous.
So here I am. I am not a qualified tradie, though I have qualifications and skills. I’m not working with a construction company, though I tried bloody hard. My ‘coworkers’ are women who may have never used a drill, and my jobsites are their homes or those of their local community. But I believe I am still a leader and positive role model. It is my pleasure to give well beyond the services I am paid to provide through the ToolSchool and other resources. I work hard to make a difference, and I see the evidence of that difference every time I Do-It-Together! with another woman having a go and giving it her best.
I dedicate this award to all the women I have worked with along my journey. You were bold and brave, and took a chance to try something new and foreign. Good on you!
