A Win for Female Participation in Construction and Engineering

Omnii

Female participation in the construction industry is staggeringly low at only 18%1 and has slightly better participation of 27.5%2 in engineering.

Omnii is committed to equal opportunity and is determined to close the gender gap; we are particularly challenging the industry to see greater female participation in Fire Engineering. We are proud to say our current gender diversity split in our Melbourne and Sydney offices is 50%.

State Netball Hockey Centre - A Win for Female Participation in Construction and Engineering
Image credit: HiVis Pictures courtesy Development Victoria
During the peak of the project 26,000 hours were worked by women, which equated to 30 per cent of hours worked3.

Omnii was privileged to have worked with the team behind Development Victoria’s recent State Netball and Hockey Centre Redevelopment project that actively pushed to increase female participation in construction, engineering and sport. Under a pilot program by Kane Constructions, encouraged by the Labor Government, a call was made to Victorian women and girls to consider and encourage a career in construction3.

During the peak of the project 26,000 hours were worked by women, which equated to 30 per cent of hours worked. In total, 73 women worked on the redevelopment site in trade and support roles3.

The new facilities offer more opportunities and pathways for players and is a game changer for women and girls in sport. Netball Victoria, Melbourne Vixens, Hockey Victoria and dozens of grassroots hockey and netball teams are based at the centre, and the new facilities will now open up the venue for more community participation, high-performance excellence, competitions and major events3.

Maneesha Dodangoda, our Omnii Fire Consultant, worked on the project and felt proud to have contributed our Fire Engineering services to the development.

“This was a high profile project and was of great benefit to women in sport,” she advised.

“With Kane’s pilot program, I definitely noticed the difference. For example, it was very refreshing to see a larger representation of women in the project team meetings.”

“When I was at university, the female student recruitment was very low, so I loved seeing more women represented, particularly in engineering.”

1 Workplace Gender Equality Agency Construction

2 Workplace Gender Equality Agency Engineering

3 Development Victoria 

Development Victoria actively pushed for increased female participation in construction, engineering and sport.
Image credit: HiVis Pictures courtesy Development Victoria

“From a technical perspective, this was a challenging but extremely satisfying project to have worked on,” Dodangoda adds. “As with all our work at Omnii, we are not box-tickers, and this project required new research-based performance solutions to ensure the design fulfilled the client’s vision.”

Omnii’s fire safety design solutions and bespoke fire testing, approved by the Building Appeals Board, ultimately allowed existing infrastructure to be used, ensuring the development stayed within funding budgets and completion timeframes.

“It was a privilege to be a part of this project that is a win for female participation all-round”, Dodangoda exclaims.

Omnii applauds the Government, Development Victoria and Kane for their efforts in closing the gender gap in the construction industry.

Read more about Omnii’s Fire Engineering Services here

With Kane’s pilot program, I definitely noticed the difference. For example, it was very refreshing to see a larger representation of women in the project team meetings.

Maneesha Dodangoda
Fire Consultant