International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women worldwide. To mark the occasion, Duratec marketing, brand & communications manager Aleks Peverall talks about her experience as a woman in construction.
Aleks Peverall’s mum has always been her biggest role model. Little wonder when you consider she moved to the other side of the world so her kids could access better opportunities, not to mention
her advocacy for change which enabled international pharmacists to get registered in New Zealand. Aleks feels fortunate to have been raised by a strong woman.
“I saw how many obstacles Mum faced during her career, how many fights she had to fight,” she said.
“She worked hard, eventually as a single mum, to grow her career, then her businesses, and became a respected name within the pharmaceutical community of WA.”
Through her mum’s role modelling, Aleks is also passionate about driving change. She feels privileged to be able to communicate messages about Duratec’s commitment to supporting women in construction and showcase some of the female talent within the company.
Duratec is working hard to increase female participation and Aleks is always in awe of the incredible women she encounters on site and in the office. There are some amazing stories to tell and she hopes that by sharing them, she and her team can help inspire the next generation.
Aleks also hopes that one day, there won’t be a need to celebrate International Women’s Day. While she acknowledges that, as a society, we’ve come a long way, she believes we still have a long way to go when it comes to gender equality.
“Even though most people I come across are super-supportive of women in the workplace, there’s still this unconscious bias that exists, even among allies and other women,” she said.
“It’s important that we check ourselves and hold ourselves accountable for what we do and say.
“Until things are truly equal, events like International Women’s Day are vital to continuously drive awareness.”
Aleks is passionate about motivating and empowering the next generation, and believes it is crucial for women to support other women.
“Sometimes – and this doesn’t apply only to women – because we are trying to forge our way ahead and make ourselves seen and heard in a male-dominated industry, it can be at the detriment to other women,” she said.
“I think we need to be very conscious of that and almost hold each other’s hands, fix each other’s crowns and push our way up together.
“If you’re in a position to facilitate an opportunity for another woman, then I think it’s important to do that.”
Aleks is a champion of Duratec’s International Women’s Day Awards and this year’s theme, ’embrace equity’, resonated with her strongly. As explained in the unveiling of the IWD theme: equity can be defined as giving everyone what they need to be successful – it doesn’t mean giving everyone the same thing. If we give everyone the same thing, expecting it to make them all equal, it assumes that everyone started out in the same place. This can be inaccurate because not everyone is the same.
Aleks and her husband are both career-driven and both devoted parents, so to ensure equality they must embrace equity. What does that look like?
“Luke and I both have full-time jobs, which means we each have to put in whatever is required in order to maintain both our work and home lives,” she said.
“We split the housework, kid pick-ups and drop-offs, and we take turns having time off work when our son is sick.”
With another baby on the way, Aleks is glad to have in place a system that functions well for her family. She also hopes she can be an inspiration to her daughter and, more importantly, raise both her children in an equitable household where behaviours are role modelled.
