Making our mark on the industry

Since Adam was a lad, construction has generally been thought of as a ‘man’s world’. And it’s still quite difficult to name the strong, prominent women in the industry today. Times are changing now though with more girls becoming involved in construction on the tools. But it’s my guess that still the majority of women in the industry provide a more supportive role, even if that supporting role actually means sitting behind a desk and running the business! It’s a fair division of labour I suppose, in much the same way as a household is run with jobs for the girls and jobs for the boys depending where strengths lie. In future issues of Master Builder magazine this year, we will profile some of the prominent women FMB members.

The long and fascinating history of FMB member Sykes & Son Limited reveals that during the 250 years it has been in existence it was run by women on three separate occasions. Granted, these women inherited the business, but it seems they never thought twice about taking on this herculean task. Not only did they take the business over, they did it very successfully, always leaving it in a strong position for succeeding generations to build on. The 70th anniversary of the FMB is fast approaching, so the history theme will continue in your magazine in the lead up to that. If you have a long memory and would like to share some early FMB stories, we would be delighted to hear from you, or if your company has a long history that should be celebrated, then do get in touch.