‘Pro-money-making movement’: the male-dominated careers women should try

Women should think of male-dominated industries as “money-dominated” and give them a go if they want to take home more pay, experts say. See lucrative sectors.

Women should be open to working in sectors dominated by men if they want to take home more pay, a leading careers expert says.

Western Sydney Women founder Amanda Rose says STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), aviation, trades and construction are lucrative sectors women are “eminently qualified” for.

“It doesn’t mean you have to be on the tools – although you could be, if that’s what you’re interested in,” she says.

“Women need to know they can walk on to a construction site and get a job in sales or as a project manager or assisting the project manager or even in design, if they wanted to come in as an architect.”

Rather than think about these sectors as male-dominated, Rose says they are better considered as “money-dominated” and warns women are missing out if they don’t give them a go.

“This isn’t an anti-men’s movement,” she says.

“It’s a pro-money-making movement. And if men are doing it, it makes money – it’s as simple as that.

“Careers in these sectors aren’t always technical or reserved for maths geniuses but they are remunerative, fun and dynamic.

“But because of the narrative (surrounding gendered work), there are girls out there that don’t even know they exist.”

Women should consider careers in “money-dominated” sectors like construction, trades, aviation and STEM.

Sky’s the limit

Women are desperately needed to help ease a worldwide shortage of pilots, which worsened during the pandemic as travel restrictions led many aviation workers to abandon the industry, aviation careers expert Kirsty Ferguson says.

More cabin crew, security, customer service operators, baggage handlers, technicians, engineers and HR specialists are also required.

Ferguson says the sector is working hard to close the gender pay gap, noting that defence force pilots are “paid equally, straight off the bat”.

“There’s something about aviation that gets into your blood,” she says. “It’s aspirational – there’s a sense of responsibility and there’s great career pathways where you can keep progressing and improving and challenging yourself.”

Endless opportunities

The introduction of mandatory gender quotas on major construction sites in NSW, Victoria and the ACT has helped increase the number of women tradies, Build Like A Girl founder Jo Farrell says – but there is still plenty of opportunity.

“We need more tradeswomen, that’s a fact,” she says. “We need every type of role you can think of – plasterers, painters, plumbers, carpenters and bricklayers.

“There’s opportunities going every single day of the week.”

Farrell says salaries of up to $150,000 are available to newly qualified tradies – an increase of 50 per cent since 2020 – and there are also lucrative entry and mid-tier roles available within the white-collar space.

Postgraduate architecture student Maryann Aziz hopes her field is one day celebrated for its diversity.

Diversity a win-win

Maryann Aziz had no idea she was breaking gender stereotypes when she decided on a career in architecture.

“I just chose it out of fascination as to how people connect with a particular space,’’ the 23-year-old says.

“I really wasn’t aware it was a men’s profession and I think that’s a good thing because it let me get into the industry (without any perceived bias) and explore it for myself.”

Aziz, a postgraduate architecture student at Western Sydney University, is the recipient of Frasers Property Australia’s scholarship for women, a $60,000 award to encourage gender diversity within the profession.

“At times you feel you are outnumbered (by male architect students) but I try to focus on what I can bring to the table … and what I can do, as opposed to what I can’t do,” she says.

“I really hope that in the coming years the industry is celebrated as much for its diversity as it is for its creativity.”

Frasers Property Australia delivery and operations manager Nicholle Sparkes says architecture, and the property sector in general, has long been male-dominated, making it important to have initiatives to encourage and support more women into the field.

“Diversity enriches everything we do, from our daily working lives to the built environments we create for current and future generations,” she says.