Empowering women in construction: Minister Patricia de Lille to open awards celebrations, encouraging female excellence in the built environment industry
Empowering women in construction: Minister Patricia de Lille to open awards celebrations, encouraging female excellence in the built environment industry
Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia de Lille, will address finalists and attendees of the Empowerment and Recognition of Women in Construction Awards on 26 August. To attend the virtual address, register for the online awards ceremony here.
As with many technical and engineering industries, the built environment sector still has much progress to make on the road to gender parity. While the nature of the construction industry has changed in recent years and women on site is no longer an unfamiliar scene, the Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) has recognised that women in the industry should be further encouraged and promoted.
To this end, the Empowerment and Recognition of Women in Construction (ERWIC) Awards is taking place on 26 August where ten construction entities will be recognised for their role in developing women in the industry. Amongst others, these entities comprise of women-owned companies, companies which have contributed to mentorship of women, youth-women owned entities, and individuals who have contributed to the upliftment of women in the industry. Having received a high calibre of awards entries in recent weeks, the ceremony is set to showcase female excellence and encourage others into this sector.
Opening the hybrid virtual-physical awards event on Wednesday, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia de Lille, will address finalists and attendees. As a woman in a male-dominated field, Minister de Lille is sure to have valuable personal experience and professional advice to share about how to reach for success through the noise of gender stereotyping, inherent biases and the status quo. Also scheduled to speak at the event is cidb CEO Cyril Vuyani Gamede, and cidb Chairperson Nonkululeko Sindane.
Increasing opportunities for women in construction
The construction sector is entering an exciting time which will offer increased opportunities for more women-owned entities to showcase their abilities in rising to South Africa’s infrastructure problems. For example, Infrastructure South Africa (ISA), an entity of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), has entered into a memorandum of agreement with National Treasury and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) for a R100-billion Infrastructure Fund. Further, the recently gazetted list of 50 Strategic Integrated Projects and 12 Special Projects is good news to a sector in need of development.
Historically, just 20% of government construction tenders are awarded to female-owned entities. With infrastructure development being hailed as a key to economic development, the hope is that with more projects on the horizon, substantial business development is within reach for women-owned entities. This poses the potential to aid in job creation and economic reform in South Africa.
Media and industry stakeholders are encouraged to register to attend the event online here and join the cidb and DPWI in celebrating the achievements of women in the construction industry.
Contact Details:
Christine Webster
ERWIC Awards Project Manager
christine@swmcommunications.co.za
082 552 4394
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