Article written by Rebecca Di Noia, Business Advisor, Western Sydney Business Centre.
“Why can’t we work according to the gifts and talents God has given us, rather than what society or culture expects us to do?”
This comment was made by my hubby 6 months after I first started my business.
Coming from an Asian background, women are expected to be helpers for their husbands, not leaders. Even though I may have business ideas and a vision of where my business should go, I was still carrying around cultural expectations of what a female should be or behave.
I was trying to push my hubby out to be the face of the brand, while constantly trying to be a backseat driver.
This led to constant arguments for 6 months, until one day, I had enough and told him we need to sit down and have a serious talk.
Before starting the business, I was working as a Sustainability Assessor for both the Federal and State Government energy-saving programs for over 5 years, helping both residential and business customers to cut down on energy consumption.
As a heavily male-dominated industry, you would be lucky to find 1-2 females out of a total of 10 assessors.
During those 5 years, I wore boots and uniforms, carried tools, and had regular toolbox meetings with my male colleagues. I also visited various households, advising on how to save energy, and installing door seals.
Being a carpenter’s wife helped as he taught me how to check gaps and install door seals properly.
But, I still constantly hear comments such as “You have done that? Even my son cannot do it!” – after I had finished installing door seals on a client’s door.
This year, the theme for International Women’s Day is – Embrace Equity. However, as I pondered on what this meant, I kept reflecting on my hubby’s comments 10 years ago. Historically, Women have indeed been denied many opportunities due to gender, but what would happen if it was the other way around? If a male wants to be a midwife, how would we as a society perceive it? Would we encourage it or just dismiss it altogether because that’s not a ‘traditional male’ occupation?
Maybe we need to ask ourselves the same question as my hubby asked me all those years ago; as we celebrate and embrace our differences, let’s give equity to one another, regardless of our gender, colour, race, age, or background and help each other succeed.
“Behind every successful person, there’s another great supportive human being.”