Breaking barriers for women’s entry into the construction industry through re-skilling, re-tooling and job placement. The stories of Brenda and Stephanie, women in construction industry in Nairobi.
Women make up a paltry 3% (4.140) of the skilled workforce in Kenya’s construction industry. The sector has left out women for far too long in terms of industry skilling and opportunities for meaningful labour. But this is now changing.
Brenda Achar (20) and Stephanie Syombua (23) are part of the over 194 women who have been skilled and placed in the construction industry by Buildher. Brenda was a resident of Mathare slums and a first born to a single mother, jobless with no income at all.
The skilling intervention has not only improved on her self-esteem and confidence, it has enabled her to earn a steady income through job placement at BuildX Studio, a company in the construction industry where they earn KES1,300 per day (KES35,000 per month). She has since moved her family to live in a more secure neighborhood and helps her mother to pay school fees for her younger siblings.
The stories of Brenda and Stephanie, represent the transformation among hundreds of other women from the informal settlements in Nairobi that BuildHer is working with, in collaboration with other industry players, like the National Construction Authority, to expand spaces for women’s engagement with the construction industry.
