FEATURES
Raising the roof
With more females breaking the glass ceiling in the built
sector, roofing experts share their experiences as women
in construction.
By Candace Sofianos King
St
Women are breaking boundaries in the built environment.
V
ersatile, driven, independent –
these are a mere handful of words
best used to describe women who
play a pivotal role in the built environment.
Already a tough sector to crack, entering
the South African construction sector can
be arduous, however, several women have
scaled the scaffolding and proved that it’s a
women’s world too.
“Being a woman in a male dominated
industry like the construction sector didn’t
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AUGUST 2018
CLADDING // CONCRETE // INSULATION // STEEL // THATCH // TIMBER // TRANSLUCENT // WATERPROOFING // COMPONENTS
intimidate me that much. I’ve always been
a girl who got along with boys very well. I
played sports which helped me build my
confidence and assured me that I was as
competent as my male peers in any task at
work, sometimes even exceeding my male
counterparts,” says Petra Mitchell,
managing director of ARTEP Central
Solutions.
Mitchell is a skills development
professional with over seven years’
experience in the construction industry and
more than 10 years’ experience in training
and development. In 2015, she launched
ARTEP Central Solutions, a 100% black
female owned company established to
identify the skills gap that exists in the
market to service, empower and implement
recommended strategies.
“The inclusion of women in any sector
for that matter means we are moving into
an economy that is inclusive of all and