Jo Farrell, Founder of Build Like A Girl
APPRENTICE CARPENTER TO GENERAL MANAGER
Jo established Build Like A Girl in August 2020.
She became so frustrated with hearing stories of women being turned away from apprenticeship roles, or discouraged to pursue a trade career, that she decided to create a movement where this would change dramatically.
Jo’s career spans over two decades and across multiple spectrums of the industry. A qualified carpenter by trade, licenced builder, certified building designer and now General Manager at Kane Constructions ACT (a multi-million dollar construction company), Jo has literally worked from the ground up to be where she is today.
In 1996, Jo finished high school and while she had no intention of going to university, her dream careers had always been to either become a vet, or a builder. Given her lacklustre grades (not to mention an aversion to blood and needles), vet science was out of the question, and building was the way to go.
Though her dream career, Jo didn’t realise just how hard this path would be. Growing up in a working class area of Wollongong, apprenticeships were generally snapped up by young men at the BHP steel plant. Jo quickly found out that the building industry had no time for women as she dropped off her CV to every builder in the greater Wollongong area. She became a regular face on sites as she attempted to speak with tradesmen and business owners, ringing people incessantly to ask for an opportunity, a chance to demonstrate her skills which were just as good as the boy's, if not better.
But consistently she was rejected.
Every rejection had the same hallmark comments:
“We don’t employ girls”
“You’re not strong enough”
“Girls are a distraction”
“It’s a man’s job, not a woman’s job”
“If you want an apprenticeship, go and be a hairdresser”
And so on.
Despite being disheartened (a person can only be rejected so many times), Jo persevered and eventually wore down a builder who offered her a 3 month trial.
If she was willing to work for free.
Now free doesn't pay the bills, but finally she had been given an opportunity and she ran with it.
This marked the beginning of a long and challenging, but ultimately successful journey into the world of Building and Construction.
After those 3 months, Jo had proven that she was willing to work hard and began her apprenticeship in earnest; studying one day a week at TAFE and working Monday to Saturday for the next 4 years. With a willingness to learn and a natural curiosity, Jo moved to Sydney in her third year and commenced façade work on commercial building sites, subcontracting to the likes of Lendlease, John Holland, Watpac, Leighton and other multi national building companies. At completion of her apprenticeship, she continued her studies, and enrolled in night courses to complete her Cert IV and Diploma in Building, while undertaking business management and an advanced diploma of building design.
From there, Jo managed a structural steel company and worked on some of the most iconic Sydney landmarks, such as Pitt Street Mall, Sydney Grammar School, World Square, Sydney Airport and the cross city tunnel.
She joined the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Sydney chapter in 2003, and was a mentee in one of their first programs rolled out in that year. She was paired with Alison Mirams, who is now the CEO of Roberts Co and a veritable titan in the industry. Jo and Alison have remained friends ever since and Jo credits Alison as one of the most influential people in her life, who provided critical and strategic advice in relation to development and recognising self worth.
In 2009, Jo moved overseas and took an opportunity to work on a 300m Euro Nuclear Decommissioning Facility in Lithuania. During this time Jo learnt to read, write and speak in Russian and was the only female employed in a site based role. This experience gave Jo an insight into the technically challenging and diverse world of nuclear construction and also gave her the opportunity to travel to over 44 countries in 3 years.
Jo wants to ensure that the challenges and hardships she endured, are not presented to women wishing to enter the industry and her personal mission is to create pathways and opportunities for women of any age, social status, income level, and
ethnicity to work in construction and know they have the full support and guidance of other women who have walked this path before them.
In 2021 Jo and her female team completed construction on the Strathnairn Charity House, a project which was designed, built and sold by women, which raised over $500,000 for local female focussed charities.
A landmark project in Canberra, the Charity House also generated apprenticeship employment for 27 women and has created a network of women supporting each other in trades. Since 2020, Jo has helped hundreds of women gain full time employment and regularly assists with programs, initiatives and services aimed at changing the 2% participation rate.
Her philanthropy and advocacy work have been widely recognised and awarded, and she now splits her time between building and speaking at public events to raise further awareness and action in the construction industry on the challenges women still face, and how we need to change the culture for women and gender diverse people to thrive.
Awards and Recognition
ACT Australian of The Year 2024
ACT Woman of the Year 2024
Excellence in Women's Leadership ACT 2024
ACT Woman of the Year Finalist 2023
MBA Construction Woman of the Year 2022
HCA Philanthrophy Award 2022
CWB Social Impact Award 2022
NAWIC Diversity and Inclusion award 2021