DigitALL Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality: Women Entering Construction

I recently joined the construction industry as an Engineering Surveyor and I must say the one thing I have fallen in love with the most is Heavy Machinery. Oh, how they make such amazing toys! After finishing college almost four years ago, I made a conscious decision to join academia, one because I have always been pro-transference of knowledge and a firm believer in education as a tool for success. Not that the education system would have fallen apart without my participation but I hoped to create an environment that I deeply needed during my college days but couldn’t have. So, you can imagine the irony of my being in the industry now. However, this opportunity couldn’t have come at a better time. I love being a Woman in Construction and it’s more than just the “toys” though that’s like a huge part of it.

I guess the same reason I wanted to be in academia is what has given me joy as part of the construction industry community. The fact that I still get to build something more than just about me, something for generations to come. It is quite transformative to be a part of such life-altering developments that not only serve to facilitate accessibility by providing linkages between communities or further economic agendas but also alter lifestyles by improving the quality of life for the present generation and laying a better foundation for the future generations. Roads Construction is a dream come true for a social development practice believer like myself. It may not be research but I do believe that in the words of the great Douglas Murray, I am still protecting my corner on the ideological sphere only that now I am implementing the science to build better and support livelihoods.

For weeks now, I have been contemplating writing this article just wondering exactly what to put down. I suppose I somewhat lacked inspiration but thanks to the 2023 International Women’s Day(#IWD2023) theme of DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality and my affinity for the big construction vehicles, we are here. So something, I may have forgotten to mention is, in my love for big toys, all is not unbiased, I do have a favorite and He just happens to be the innovation that engineering surveying has desperately needed for a while now. Naturally, the construction industry is extremely demanding, and the truth as demonstrated by the history of engineering surveying,spending years on single projects in the middle of nowhere, especially during the era of the olden methods somewhat created a barrier for women to join the industry while facilitating gender inequality in the industry.

Also, limitations in technological advancements and innovations increased the gap, more especially in Sub-Saharan Africa where even when the innovation exists, its acceptance, adoption, and utility take a while. This rhetoric inspires another deep conversation that should be pitched soon. The timeliness of the #IWD2023 theme for a woman like myself is not the advent but rather the adoption of innovations like the GNSS graders, drones, and GNSS sets within the construction industry. For instance, the grader is everything it was meant to be, and so much more, a sister is in love.

I don’t only love this beauty for his capacity to do what used to be excruciatingly cumbersome(Road Profiling) at a moment in history in the most direct and cost-effective way possible but also for his complexities and how his advent broadened the horizon of what an Engineering Surveyor can do. The role of a Surveyor has been extended from just the technical aspects of the design model to ground transference and setting out to include alignment and surface designing.

Now, a lot of data is passing through the surveyor, all of which require some level of processing and analysis before it is in a usable state in the field. Design has become a critical skill for Engineering Surveyors, for instance, there is no way of employing a GNSS grader without a surface overlaying the alignment file. On top of that, design requires a certain level of tech-savviness and proficiency in software use. The potential of a Surveyor in construction works continues to grow limitless most especially for women now. Despite being one of the oldest professions, the Surveying industry is also one of the oldest serving boys’ clubs. Despite the rapid rate of innovations the industry has experienced over the last few decades the gap in the male-to-female professionals’ ratio has continually increased as more women keep opting for the potential of a job in a less harsh environment(office) preferably within the GIS domain. Over the years, the GIS domain has had the most uptake of technological innovations somewhat limited to office work as compared to the other disciplines of Survey.

This has proved to be a challenge for women who are passionate about other disciplines like construction but are also skeptical of the work environment. However, the advent and adoption of technological innovations like drones, GNSS graders, GNSS sets, and total stations have presented an opportunity for women to join whatever industry they want. It is now possible for a woman who is passionate about construction to excel within the industry without ever spending a full day in the excruciating and harsh outside environment.

Female Engineering Surveyors who prefer office work can now take up roles like field support and quality assurance surveyor working on design, problem resolution, analysis, equipment troubleshooting, construction data, and quality management. Innovations and technology continue bridging the gender equality gap, digitizing and mapping a brighter and better future for All #IWD2023.

Happy International Women’s Day!!!