Eighteen leading Papua New Guinean businesses have signed up to an initiative led by the International Finance Corporation to provide opportunities for women in traditionally male-dominated jobs, as Business Advantage PNG reports.

Jacobeth Misiel is a factory manager whose role is to cut steel framing to size. Credit: Rhodes

In a large, bustling workshop in Tuhava, 22 kilometres outside Port Moresby, factory manager Jacobeth Misiel carefully adjusts and checks a machine that cuts steel framing to size.

Before joining the prefabricated building and engineering company Rhodes PNG Ltd seven years ago, Misiel never imagined she would one day be part of the team creating the new homes and commercial buildings rapidly transforming Tuhava Town, in nearby Napa Napa, into PNG’s first modern housing estate.

“When I joined Rhodes, I started working as a workshop assistant. Our manager, Andrew, told me there was an opportunity to be trained for an important task,” says Misiel.

“I thought he meant just an office job – filing – not knowing that he would take me to the FrameCAD machine,” she laughs, recalling the exchange.

Eighteen of PNG’s leading businesses including Air Niugini, employing 15,000 people, are putting their weight behind the initiative.

Misiel soon mastered the technology and, encouraged by her mostly male team and supported by Rhodes’ management, she now leads the two teams responsible for Rhodes’ steel frame forming and joinery.

“In the beginning, I found it difficult, but the more I learnt about the machine, the easier it became for me to operate. It’s been a big change for me – from operating the machine to becoming a factory manager … I’m proud of myself,” she says.

‘Women Know Trades’

Helping PNG’s business community create these opportunities is a trailblazing initiative: Meri Save Trades (‘Women Know Trades’), which is led by the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, in partnership with the PNG Business Coalition for Women, supported by the governments of Australia and New Zealand.

Eighteen of PNG’s leading businesses, employing 15,000 people, including Rhodes PNG, TWM Group, Steamships and Air Niugini, are putting their weight behind the initiative, breaking down barriers to employment for women, helping more women to enter the workforce and excel in traditionally male-dominated industries – such as engineering, transport and, as in Misiel’s case, construction.

Misiel’s career progression from workshop assistant to factory manager was supported by mentorship from her direct manager and encouragement from the workshop team.

“In a male-dominated environment, a woman cannot succeed without the backing of her team, the company culture, and company management,” says Terry Welat, the human resources manager at Rhodes.

“Witnessing employees like Jacobeth advance from a junior to a senior level and then to a managerial position makes all of us feel proud – it demonstrates to other employees that there are opportunities for development and career growth.”