What is it like to be a woman in construction? I can't comment. I mean, as opposed to what? I don't have another reality to compare this one to. What I can say is 30+ years on, I love what I do.
I am a co-founder and engineer of a specialist load testing company. I find out what our clients need from us and ensure delivery. I focus on commercial aspects, with technical oversight over every project we work on. I have the flexibility to decide who we will work with, when and where. But these are privileges I have earned over time.
As a new graduate I worked for a small technical investigation business. It was the early 90s. My day? Get up, load a van with my colleague - another engineer - go to client sites. I was paid for the hours I worked. No pension or benefits, rarely welfare facilities, and barely any PPE. Site clearing, surveying, materials testing, load testing, digging, drilling, working in subways, by busy roads, under bridges, and in a couple of fields in the middle of nowhere. I took calls from clients who asked to speak to an engineer, even after I explained I was one.
These early years provided excellent hands-on experience, but not the work conditions or career progression I was looking for. I wanted more. So together with my van buddy, we co-founded a structural testing and monitoring company. In my 20s and 30s I was building a business and raising a family. Rewarding but challenging. My experiences were my own - no more difficult than my male colleagues', just different. While I created a role close to home but with commercial risk, they took on long-distance travel, working away for periods, often at short notice, while also being present for their families. I think we brought out the best in each other. So many happy memories.
I find working as an engineer in construction inspiring. To build is to collaborate. To be all in with your team. I see this work as being about the greater good we can bring about together, not the individual. I always come with an attitude to do my best, to contribute to the bigger plan.
I don't interact with my profession as a woman. I interact as intelligence, critical thinking, values, warmth, patience, and resilience.
I am here to be the solution.
Melanie Scholes, Co-founder, London Fixing Testing Ltd
