Three women who have thrived in traditionally male-dominated industries share their stories of defiance, determination, and blazing a trail for the next generation.

Levelling-Up in Construction, Leanne Lawrence, Administration Manager at Dyna Crane Services (Canada)

According to Buildforce Canada, there were approximately 190,000 women employed in Canada’s construction industry in 2020, of which 27% worked directly on construction projects. How are you finding working in the crane industry?

Being an Administration Manager is one thing as a woman in today’s world. Being an Administration Manager in charge of 10 overhead crane technicians and 2 administrators is completely another. Working in the trades is something that we’ve heard about more and more as women. But here’s the thing, I don’t practice a trade. To tell the truth, I could never work at those heights. Working on a tiny scaffold or a lift swaying in the wind 200 feet in the air sounds scary to me! I couldn’t believe the conditions our crane technicians work in, and just how dangerous their job is. They taught me how to run a forklift, and I can unpack a truck on the loading dock with the best of them. I also became a First Aid and CPR Instructor so that they don’t need to leave the office to take the course offsite. 

What does your day-to-day look like?

As Administrators, we support the Technicians. They fix cranes, we support them to do their best, and they are great at what they do here at Dyna Crane Services. The blue collar world is surprisingly relaxed; all of the Technicians treat me like their sister, and they respect the responsibilities our team has and the work we do for them. We track their safety tickets and statistics, all their incoming paperwork, whatever parts they might require, the list goes on and on. I’ve also been involved in the HR side of things, and that sometimes involves having difficult discussions, or hiring and firing. It’s not my favourite, but I do it, because we learn from it. If something happens that I don’t appreciate, I’m not the least bit apprehensive of handling it myself. I will say something if it needs to be said and I expect to follow through.

Do your male colleagues respect that kind of candor and directness?

Absolutely! We’re a family, I’m home. All of our Technicians are very supportive of women in trades. There is no bias or judgement here. There just aren’t enough women in the trade, or with the experience required. But we can all feel that changing and we welcome the change.

Construction has been viewed as a traditionally "male” industry in the past, what is it like now? Is there competition between men and women?

Not at all, the opposite is true! The minute I went to work in a male-dominated industry, everything changed. It’s an unbelievable work environment. I feel relaxed and can be myself. We laugh every day, have fun, enjoy ourselves at work, and support each other. When my Mother passed away 3 years ago, the owner shut down the entire building and every one of the Technicians showed up at the funeral, wearing suits, and lined up to give me a big hug. They’re incredibly supportive to all of their colleagues, male or female.

Most countries are now slowly emerging from the shadow of COVID-19; how did you adapt to the restrictions, and how did the strict quarantine affect your work life?

The whole team is very safe, and we discuss safety at work a lot. All of us have made it through the pandemic unscathed, even though these Technicians are considered essential workers and are in many different shops and warehouses every day keeping the cranes running. I’m considered at high risk because of underlying health conditions, and I’ve never been more looked after. The front door is locked to visitors, and they insist on answering the door. Everyone wears masks and follows the rules because it’s all about being safe for each other. 

Why is that level of understanding so important?

You see people you’re working with more than you see your family, so the people at work should be important to you, and you to them. Make sure that you have the confidence to be treated properly. Have them respect you for your mind, think hard and be a leader by example. Respect them in return. Have the confidence to say something when it needs to be said. My favourite story is when my Auntie was at some fancy dinner party and she met the President of an Oil and Gas company that I previously worked for. She was excited to meet him and asked if he knew me. His response was, “THAT one is a smart cookie.” Truly one of the best compliments, coming from an Oil and Gas Executive with over 50 years in dare I say, one of the most male dominated businesses in the world? I’ll take that compliment, every day and twice on Sunday. I know that it shows my worth as a woman in a man’s world.

What would you say to the next generation of women in construction?


My advice to all of you, get out there, dare to be different, and be a smart cookie!

Transforming Traditional Roles in Tech, Julia Nikolayenko, Executive Director and former Head of Product at Fluix (Germany and Ukraine)

Julia, you were recently appointed to the role of Executive Director at Fluix, but before that, you were Head of Product at the company. Tell us more about your path from University Assistant Professor to Head of Product at a tech company.

I have quite a well-rounded higher education in three totally different areas: I have a Master's in Economics, Bachelor’s in Philology, and Master’s in International Education Policy from Vanderbilt University in the USA. I’m also a FLEX scholarship recipient - American Councils funded by the US Department of State scholarship. After I returned to Ukraine from the US following another US-funded scholarship called Muskie, I started looking for a job. One of my FLEX friends was working at a company called Readdle and suggested that I meet with the company CEO and other founders, as she thought I’d be a great company culture fit, especially for the new B2B initiative that the company had just launched. And that’s how it all began back in 2012! In many ways, having such a diverse education helps me to see the world of business from different angles and approach it accordingly.

Nine years...That’s a big chunk of both human life and product life! Was being Head of Product a challenging role?

I feel lucky to work at a product company; it’s an honour, and a tremendous challenge, too! You’re responsible for your own product roadmap, for developing and sustaining a product market fit, and for continuously bringing value to your customers. The cost of error is enormous, and you feel the pressure and receive immediate feedback if something has gone wrong. In the case of our customers at Fluix, if they cannot launch our software to manage their workflows and documents, the knock-on effect can be extremely serious: planes won’t fly, wind turbines won’t get installed, construction projects won’t proceed as planned, la catastrophe!

We’ve made it possible for global teams to go completely paperless and dedicate time saved on paperwork to doing more meaningful tasks. These teams rely on our product every day, and they expect it to work 100% correctly, 100% of the time. It’s my job to make sure that happens.

Your team included people from different parts of the world. How did you manage such a diverse remote group?

To-date, the Fluix Team is the most diverse Team at Readdle. We come from various backgrounds and cultures, and we work from 7 different countries - from the U.S. to the UAE! Our HR team searches for new talent from anywhere in the world. I am actually quite proud to say that our team adapted very well when everyone went remote out of the blue in 2020. By the time that happened, we at Fluix had put various procedures in-place to ensure that we were fully functional as a remote team, so our productivity barely suffered. Of course, we miss seeing each other and chatting and exchanging ideas more frequently in person, but there is definitely no lack of inclusivity in Fluix.

What are you most proud of about the Fluix team?

Having been with the company for this long and having seen our product and team grow almost since day one of its existence, I have lots and lots of sources of pride at Fluix. These are things that motivate me and make me wake up in the morning feeling excited about what’s coming next for the Fluix team. I also know that I’m not the only one who is proud to be part of our team. It’s quite hard to believe, but all of my Team Leads have been with the company and our product for 5+ years and have grown internally, shifting roles and responsibilities. We’ve also been quite successful in identifying what people on our team are good at and in which areas they’d really thrive as professionals. Thankfully at Readdle and Fluix, it’s possible and simple for team members to drive initiatives and move into the roles that fit them better over time.

Do you think men and women differ in how they manage their teams?

If I had to give a yes/no answer to this question, I’d definitely say that I don’t think that gender is the main differentiating factor in the way men and women operate. I’d actually rather stress the importance of temperament and individual character. Stereotypically, one would say that women tend to be more emotional when making decisions, and men more sensible, however I’ve seen numerous examples when the exact opposite has happened. From my point of view, a mature professional who fits into the company’s culture and is motivated by what she/he does is exactly who every organisation should seek, regardless of gender or any other demographic.

Were there times when team members didn't take you seriously as a manager?

The short answer is yes. When I joined Readdle/Fluix, it was my first job in product software development. I started as a Sales and Account Manager, mostly speaking with potential customers. Later, when I became Head of Product, I found myself supervising an all-male team of very experienced Engineers. Although I knew I could fulfill the requirements of being the Head of Product, I didn’t have a technical background, so it was tough for many of the Engineers to agree that I was the right fit for the role. I can’t blame them for not taking me seriously for a while - they had to explain in-detail to me what seemed obvious to them. With that in-mind, I decided to focus on becoming part of each of the micro-teams within the Product and Engineering department. I got involved in many of their processes, became one of them, and learned tons! Today, I still learn so much from all of my colleagues, and I try to live up to the expectations and trust they put in me. I truly believe that the time I invested in building relationships with the teams was central to all of us forming a mutual respect for each other, as well as an increased understanding of the part we all play in the success of the product.

Do you have any advice for women starting out in tech management roles where teams might be predominantly male?

My advice is to focus on building rapport with your team, and also to trust in your own abilities. Some predominantly male teams may struggle to adapt to women being in management roles, but if you can show them that you have the knowledge and expertise to do your job, as well as supporting them while they do theirs, respect will evolve on all sides. Of course it can be a challenge, but you can do it!

Leading and Learning in Logistics,   Susanne Svenningsen, TWI Program Manager at Maersk Training (Denmark)


It could be perceived that the learning sector would have a fairly even balance between male and female teachers, trainers and instructors, when compared to other industries. Would that be a correct assumption?

Well, not exactly. When I worked with Siemens Gamesa in Site Training, there were men and women on various teams, but on the instructor side, I actually only worked with men. I took over my original role at the company from a man, who previously took over the role from another man. Now I work with Maersk, and I am the only woman in my department. There is a department for people skills leadership training, and that’s all men, and then there’s me doing the TWI (Training Within Industry). Throughout my TWI career, I have only trained men.

In relation to your specific sector in TWI training, would you say there’s a gender balance of men and women in that profession?

There are some women, but mostly men. When I started training TWI, I was training an all-male team of contractor offshore technicians for Siemens Gamesa. My trainer colleagues also happened to be men. I was supposed to train technicians who had been doing bolt tightening for maybe 10 years, and here I am, a back office woman, telling a very experienced offshore technician how he is supposed to do bolt tightening. Of course these guys have a lot of experience, but when you work in the wind industry as a technician, you also need to meet a lot of training requirements.

They had already learned how to do bolt tightening by attending classroom training, e-learning, and e-learning refreshers, but still we saw problems. I asked my male TWI colleagues if they thought it would be an issue, or how they thought it would be perceived, that I, as a back office woman, was going to teach technicians how to correctly do bolt tightening. They laughed and they said, “actually, we don’t think so!” They thought that the technicians would pay even more attention to me because it would be different for them to have a woman training them instead of a man, which they’re used to. When we went onsite, it really wasn’t an issue. I never ran into any issues like, “What?! You're going to teach me how to do this?!” Everyone I met was professional and welcoming.

Did you feel that you had the respect of the technicians when you arrived onsite to train them?

I don’t know if it’s respect; I think maybe it’s about building relationships. Part of the TWI training, before you start the training itself, is that you should make sure you greet the trainee and make sure they are comfortable. If they are nervous, they tend not to be as focused on training as we would like them to be. Putting great effort into making trainees feel comfortable and building a relationship with them, I think that is very important. I could go out onsite and be really direct and say, “Ok, I’m going to train you now.”, and not make an effort to build rapport or engage in small talk, but that just won’t work well.

I learned that the more you make an effort with small talk, and the more you use your humour, the stronger the relationship will become. It’s about building trust between the trainee and the trainer. When you build trust and a good relationship with trainees, you will be amazed at how much they will tell you. Some technicians will say, “I’ve been doing this for 10 years and I just realised I’ve been doing it wrong!” For a technician to admit that to a trainer, that requires them to trust you. TWI is always a 1:1 training, and I’m grateful for that, because I really believe that trust is everything in building a relationship, and it’s easier to build that one-on-one. I think respect comes from building a strong relationship first, and then when the trainees see that you can also actually do the job you’re training them to do, that’s when you earn their respect.

Humour also relaxes people. Working in traditionally male-dominated industries as a woman, you shouldn’t be too scared of speaking the same language and laughing at some of the jokes, where appropriate.

Would you say that women are generally welcomed in industries like renewable energy and logistics?

Yes, I think so. I think it can be harder for women to break into some industries, and there can be some doubts about whether they were chosen for a role because a company wanted gender diversity, or if they were chosen based on their skills and expertise alone. I have never personally experienced that feeling, but I know some women who have. I think it’s really just about being confident, and knowing that you are indeed the best person for the job you were hired for.

Do you have any advice for women starting out in their career as a TWI trainer in a male-dominated industry?

There is a famous quote, “Nothing is impossible to a determined woman.” (Louisa May Alcott). Whether it’s TWI or a different career path, anything you dream of doing - do it! Get out of your comfort zone. Sometimes I need to remind myself to get out of my own comfort zone, too. I knew when I started in my current job at Maersk that it would require lots of additional skills. I don’t have a fancy academic background, but I’m very experienced in TWI and I know I can do it, I just needed to remind myself of that!

Do you think women can sometimes over focus on perfection when applying for promotions or jobs?

In my case, I really want everything to be perfect. I’m not always confident, but I know that once I have taken that step out of my comfort zone, everything will go well because I’m prepared. Things don’t always go 100% for everyone all the time, but you can do much more than you think you can do! Also, maybe people don’t want perfection; maybe they’re looking to see that you’ve thought things through and you can do the job; that you can adapt to changing circumstances and persevere. Don’t be afraid of failing, it’s a natural way of learning. Who says you failed? Is that yourself, or someone else? Sometimes, we can be very good at telling ourselves we failed, but often we’re the only one who sees it as a big deal.

Do you think women have a position of strength in their ability to encourage teams to be more open in their discussions?

Yes, to a degree. You shouldn’t be scared to show some vulnerability. Admitting that we might be a bit scared to press the ‘go’ button, or that we’re nervous to step into the unknown, will add strength to a team. Discussing these things makes you stronger. Some people might go with the ‘fake it ‘till you make it’ approach, but that won’t always make you stronger in the long run. Acknowledging how team members are feeling about things is not a weakness - it makes the entire team stronger.

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These women had the tenacity needed to succeed in their chosen industries. All three of them are proof that when we step out of our comfort zone, we step into our true power, and anything is possible.