News & Press — Breaking Ground By Employing 25% Female Staff
With a female workforce of 25% and counting, Alchemy is carving out a new path in the Australian construction landscape, an industry where women typically still only make up 12% of staff, and where shockingly only 2% work on site.
Founders Sarah-Anne Munro and Jamie Nicolson believe that the future of the company relies on diversifying away from industry standards. But laying foundations for a modern construction company has not come without its challenges. We spoke to staff members Pauline Bastiaens and Amanda Meager at Alchemy Construct about their journey into the world of construction and found out what prejudices and pretences still ring true and what stereotypes are in the process of being quashed – hopefully for good.
“When I started out, it was the old adage of ‘women belong in the kitchen’; I didn’t belong on site basically”, explains Project Manager Pauline Bastiaens, who has worked in construction for over 20 years and has experienced a spectrum of sexist behaviour over that time. “So that was where I had a gap in my experience. I wasn’t allowed to be involved in being on site and understanding the logistics and the details of how the site operates. So when I came to Alchemy, I said to them ‘Look, there’s a gap in my experience. I need you to communicate to me what logistics I need to be aware of to make this project happen’, and they were very encouraging.”
Amanda Meager has been working in construction for 10 years, gaining experience both in Melbourne and in Townsville. She speaks of her experience on site before moving into a Contract Administrator role at Alchemy, “Any sexism towards me has been very passive aggressive. You’d get the older guys going ‘Oh you probably don’t understand that’ or ‘Can I talk to your Project Manager?’ or you’re the last point of contact. You just don’t get listened to unless you slam your fist down on the table. And you can’t not know your stuff; you almost have to know the projects better than the guys just so you can speak about them.”
Pauline still experiences prejudice but she says that she gets the support she needs at Alchemy, and that things are moving in a new direction. “I still find that at times I have to justify myself which is not nice. lf I walk into a room and they (contractors, subcontractors) don’t know what my role is, they’ll start talking to my Contracts Administrator before they’ll talk to me. But to the credit of the young guys that work with me, they usually introduce me as the Project Manager so it sort of gets that out of the way. And there’s always that support from management to make sure that doesn’t continue.”
Despite the unsurprising obstacles faced by these women, it’s a passion for building that drives them forward, as well as an ambition to grow their careers in a sector that affords them and other women endless opportunities. “Women really do want to be involved in construction and they want to be involved on site. They don’t not want to get their hands dirty, you’ll find most do; they love to be involved in it from scratch. If you want to get your boots on and get your hands dirty there’s a role for you, if you want to be in management there’s a role for you, if you want to work in safety, design… there’s so many aspects to it at Alchemy and because their culture is very inclusive, it’s a great place for a woman.”
Having worked on a diverse range of projects in Townsville such as a helicopter simulator building, an air traffic control tower, and multiple defence projects, Alchemy’s dedication to projects with meaning is what appealed to Amanda. “They’re not all about a project because of the money, they try to look at projects in terms of giving back to the community. It’s really all about creating spaces and creating ‘Buildings of Impact’ as they say, and that’s what they practice – which is really refreshing. And there’s something about the company that is so warm and different that I think just draws people in.”
Project Manager Pauline describes Alchemy’s progression over her time at the company. “Sometimes it feels like it’s an adolescent growing out of its t-shirt. We’re still learning but it is a positive place. The meeting that I had today was for the biggest job I’ve ever done, so my jobs just keep getting bigger and bigger.” Both women agree that it’s an exciting time to be at the company. “I’ve gone from a site engineer to wanting to do contracts admin and possibly commercial management or contracts management later on. It’s really refreshing to be a part of a company that is growing and has prospects – you can see you’ve got long-term career progression here.’’ says Amanda.
Alchemy aims to represent society in their staff and foster equality. New perspectives are only making the company and the industry at large better, explains Amanda, ”We (women) see the world differently. We can have different relationships with the clients. We can bring a softer point of view to things at times, make people feel more included in Alchemy as a company, help them feel a part of the team as well and part of the project.”
The shift away from traditional hierarchical structure is felt throughout the business, explains Amanda, “You have the directors walking around saying ‘Good Morning’ to everyone and actually having a conversation with you – they’re interested in you and they remember what projects you’re on. It’s the kind of workplace where on a Friday you want to have a drink with your friend. I always wanted a good culture and it has just exceeded my expectations.”
Alchemy’s Brand and Marketing Director Sarah-Anne Munro says they are aiming to hire more women in senior management roles – and that the visibility of women in that area is integral to creating impactful change. “I think that it’s really important to get females in senior positions, at director level, to occupy those roles in the same way that men have for a long time. We’re getting better at it but there is still a lot to be done.”