Share this article:
As part of the #BuildingEquality 2019 Campaign, Iris Kavanagh, Owner of Pennypop, a Marketing Agency supporting Construction Businesses, shares her story as a woman in construction.
At this stage in my career, I believe construction chose me! I began my career in marketing & communications in food and facilities management, from there moved into the oil business and now to construction. In each sector I have worked, there have been similarities around marketing for multi-site locations and project teams as part of the business, so even though it mightn’t have looked like it on paper at the time, the construction industry was a natural fit.
I’m the owner of Pennypop now, a Marketing Agency supporting construction firms, and I really enjoy working in the construction industry.
I have been very lucky to have worked closely with three leaders that were not only role models but mentors too. Now that I think of that, two of those three have been women. They helped guide me through my career and taught me that the sky is the limit on achieving our own potential – but you must believe in yourself and work hard to get where you want to go. They taught me that professionalism, hard work and continuously learning, go a long way in achieving any career goals.
Having come from outside the industry, I suppose I could have fallen into the stereo typical mindset about construction being male dominated. I believe we need to look to all of us as women in the industry to come together and raise our profiles as a group and be prepared to widen our network outside of our industry. This will support equality and put women within the construction industry on the radar nationally. The CIF #BuildingEquality Group is an excellent way to support that journey of promoting equality within the industry.
To learn more about the #BuildingEquality campaign and to share your own story, please visit our dedicated page here