New "Keep It Decent" guidelines will be released today to help trade employers make their worksite a safe and respectful place for everyone, a move one female electrician says is "absolutely fantastic".
It comes after a recent Human Rights Commission report found 30% of construction workers experienced at least one sexual harassment behaviour in the last five years, and 17% of construction workers have "often" or "always" experienced at least one workplace bullying behaviour in the last 12 months.
Brooke Thompson, also known as Sparky Girl, told Breakfast "it's very isolating at times" to be a woman in the male-dominated industry.
"I think that there is a misconception that in New Zealand we are above it all, and that we don't have all of these kind of secret things going on in the trades in the background," she said.
New guidelines have been launched today and Breakfast's Jessica Swan explains what it entails and why it matters.
"I've had my a*** slapped on site, I've had people call me up after work to sexually harass me, I've had foremen on site tell me to get on my knees for them, this stuff is happening, it exists, and it's really traumatic for women to have to put up with and go through.
"So I think the more we talk about it, the better, because it's going to give light to something that usually we don't hear about."
Waihanga Ara Rau (Workforce Development Council for construction and infrastructure) chief executive Philip Aldridge said hearing stories like Thompson's "makes you feel terrible as a manager and leader and part of the industry", adding "we're looking to change that".
"That's part of the reason for launching these guidelines and we're asking people to step up and change what they do personally, and also change their workplaces," he said.
Aldridge said "we've only got 8% of women on the tools and we're looking to increase that" so "this is an opportunity to think about how we do things differently, how we make it more inclusive".
Asked what would make the biggest difference, Thompson said: "I think it would be good men standing up for people around them.
"We've been screaming out for support from the top for ages, so to see this [the guidelines] come in is absolutely fantastic."
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