Sunshine Coast trainee makes construction podcast Hard Hats and Heels

A young Queensland construction worker passionate about other ladies joining her spills the beans on attitudes towards women in the industry. TAKE OUR POLL.

Trainee Felicity Wadsworth, 20, is encouraging other women to join her in the construction industry.

A Sunshine Coast construction worker says no one has to sacrifice their style on a job site as she confronts the occasional prehistoric attitude that ladies belong “in the kitchen”.

Trainee Felicity Wadsworth, 20, is studying civil construction and has worked in the industry since she was 17.

She had considered a childcare career but fell into construction after submitting her resume for a job while still at school.

She said her experience of construction was mixed, with good times outweighing negative experiences.

“I found overall the men are really supportive of having women out there and other girls getting in there and having a crack,” she said.

Trainee Felicity Wadsworth, 20, says women do not have to lose their style when they start a trade or enter the construction industry. Picture: Instagram

She said, however, the whole point of the podcast she created, Hard Hats and Heels, was to encourage women to get past their own misconceptions that men did not want women in the industry.

“It’s such a confidence thing,” she said.

Felicity Wadsworth wants to become a supervisor.

“For me personally, I’m such a girly girl I love makeup and I love getting dressed up … and I really want to put it out there you can be both.

“You can be a girl who loves the colour pink and be a tradie and get in there and have a crack.”

With a following of more than 1600 on Instagram, the trainee seems to have hit a chord with others in the industry and those who like her focus on health and wellness.

The trainee has created seven episodes of the podcast, discussing issues including women’s health like endometriosis and period pain and how to talk to men bosses about it, the line between banter and “someone going too far”, recruitment and a man’s perspective on women in construction.

Ms Wadsworth said she had experienced a number of reactions when she walked onto a job site.

“I’ve had it from men who love seeing me out there and want to give me all the advice in the world and all their wisdom and pass it down to me,” she said.

“But I’ve also had the other end of the spectrum when men are not happy to see me out there and honestly think I belong in a kitchen.

“It’s so wild to think we’re in 2025 and there are still people out there with that mindset.”

Ms Wadsworth said although those attitudes still existed in some circles, she said she created the podcast as a way of moving the discussion forward.

The 20-year-old said in the short time she had worked, she had seen more women enter the industry partly because Community Solutions, which manages her traineeship, had created a program for girls to enter construction.

Ms Wadsworth said she wanted to become a supervisor and intended to continue working on her podcast.

She was looking for women from mining and construction she could feature in upcoming episodes and she is also about to launch a mentorship program.

Originally published as Sunshine Coast trainee makes construction podcast Hard Hats and Heels