Women in the construction industry - their unique paths and experiences

Barbara Pulfer, a construction foreman and vocational trainer at Maurer Wirz AG Bauunternehmung in Bern, opened the discussion with her personal story. She explained how her passion for the construction world was sparked during her school days and emphasized the importance of honest and direct communication in the industry. Chymena Poppler, site manager for warranty work at Anliker AG Generalunternehmung, shared her story of how she entered the construction industry by chance. Her role as an assistant developed quickly as she bravely "jumped in at the deep end" and worked her way up in her career. Corinne Reimann, who works as Head of Warranty and Buyer Support at Implenia Switzerland Ltd, shared her 12 years of experience at the largest construction company in Switzerland. Her career began with a simple curiosity for drawing and led her straight to the construction site without much thought.

When Ueli Schmezer asked whether special qualities or character traits are needed to be successful as a woman in the construction industry, all three women agreed: you have to be able to assert yourself. They emphasized that in addition to one's own attitude, education and family support also play a major role in succeeding as a woman in this industry. Despite the challenges, the outlook remains positive, as women are increasingly demanded and valued in the construction world. When asked whether the construction site needs more women, Corinne answered firmly that women are needed everywhere on the construction site. She emphasized that the special skills and intuition that women often possess are in high demand in the construction industry, sometimes even more than those of men.

Togetherness in the construction industry

Heather Steele, responsible for Human Resources, and Andreas Rogenmoser, Head of Civil West at Implenia Switzerland Ltd, also gave an insightful presentation at the event on the topic of women in the construction industry. Under the title "We create togetherness", they highlighted the challenges faced by women in the construction industry and at the same time presented solutions that Implenia is pursuing in Switzerland and abroad.

Heather Steele emphasized that it is important for Implenia to be transparent about the journey to achieving greater diversity and equity within the company. Andreas Rogenmoser added that Implenia is proud to have already made progress towards diversity and equity, but is also convinced that further steps are needed.

In conclusion, Heather Steele and Andreas Rogenmoser emphasized the need for industry-wide collaboration to promote a more inclusive and equitable construction industry. The message is clear: through collaboration and targeted measures for a construction industry in which women and men can be equally successful.

How do you properly approach women as specialists?

Innovative strategies were presented on how companies can target and attract women as specialists. First, Jörg Buckmann, Managing Director of Buckmann Gewinnt GmbH, focused on the design of job advertisements that are specifically geared towards appealing to women. By analyzing before and after examples, he illustrated how traditional job ads can be redesigned to be more inclusive and appealing to women professionals. A key tip was to use gender-neutral wording and flexibility in terms of workload to recognize the diversity of life situations and needs of potential female applicants.

Andrea Niggli, CEO at Thomann Nutzfahrzeuge AG, shared his company Thomann Nutzfahrzeuge AG's experience with the innovative "100%/4 days" working model, which enables employees to gain additional free time by working more on fewer days. He explained how such flexible working time models, in particular the promotion of part-time work, are not only attractive for parents, but also represent a valuable resource for deploying skilled workers where they are needed most. Niggli acknowledged that implementing such models is a challenge and comes at a cost, but at the same time emphasized that these investments are not impossible to manage.

Both speakers emphasized the importance of flexibility, inclusivity and a direct approach when communicating with potential applicants.

4 days week

In May 2022, the 25hours Hotel with both locations in Zurich (Langstrasse and Zurich West) introduced an innovative working time arrangement: the 4-day week. Under the motto "Come as you are", the hotel focuses on individuality and creates a working environment that promotes personal and professional development. 

If you opt for the 4-day week at 25hours Hotels in Zurich, you work 9.5 hours four days a week plus a 30-minute lunch break. In addition, the daily working hours include a 15-minute break twice a day. Three days off are guaranteed. The difference to the contractually owed weekly working time (42 hours) is reserved as overtime compensation. The salary remains the same. At the end of the year, the accumulated minus hours balance is set to zero.

With this measure, the 25hours Hotel aims to position itself as a pioneer in the hotel industry by promoting a good work-life balance and at the same time emphasizing the responsibility and commitment of its employees.

Job sharing at CEO level at Stutz AG

Lynn Burkhardt and Beat Müller, the co-CEO duo of Stutz AG, share the management of the company in an innovative job-sharing model. They each work 70%, with 1.5 days of the working week spent working from home. Both are civil engineers and have divided the areas of responsibility between western and eastern Switzerland in order to provide employees with clear points of contact.

This model enables them to share responsibilities effectively and, despite the 140%, maintain a close working relationship that would hardly be possible without private contact. The fact that Stutz AG is a family business is particularly appreciated by the employees, and the dynamic management by a mixed duo has had a positive impact on the company. However, there is still room for improvement when it comes to equality in the workforce: out of 800 employees, only 20 are women, including just one female construction manager. When asked by Ueli Schmezer what is being done to change this imbalance, Burkhardt and Müller say that they are still doing too little in this respect, but that they want to change this in the future.

The best way to get women interested in the construction industry is through role models. To this end, the best stories of heroes and heroines were sought and a heroine was indeed chosen at this two-day event. The winner, Doris Haldner, who was unable to attend the award ceremony herself, was announced by the public vote on site. The lucky retiree still has a few mandates and advises municipalities, associations and institutions on real estate and construction projects. Her last job was with the Canton of Bern (AGG), where she was most recently the cantonal master builder and before that she was head of the portfolio management department. Before that, she was responsible for the execution of construction projects at Batigroup AG. The prize consisted of a Campus Sursee voucher worth 1000 Swiss francs.

The "We build on women" event at the Sursee campus was an impressive testament to the strength, determination and talent of women in the construction industry. It highlighted the importance of diversity and inclusion on the construction site and served as an inspiration for everyone, regardless of gender, to pursue their passions and break barriers in traditional professional fields.

For more information: www.campus-sursee.ch