International Women’s Day: 8th March 2025

Celebrating Women in the Industry: Breaking Barriers and Building the Future

The construction and design industries have long been considered male-dominated fields, but over the years, women have been making incredible strides, challenging norms, breaking barriers, and shaping the future of the built environment. APS is proud to be part of this progress, with a predominantly female office and a growing network of inspiring female members who have overcome obstacles to thrive in their careers. This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the resilience, talent, and achievements of women in our industry, recognising how far we’ve come and the exciting path ahead.

At APS, we’re proud to have incredible women across all levels—from our HQ staff to our members and board. We’ve invited them to share their experiences, insights, and what it means to be a woman in the construction and design industry. This week, we've spoken to some of these women about thier expeirences and advice about the industry.

Today's spotlight shines on Nicola Knowles, an esteemed APS CMaPS Member and a valued member of the APS Education and Training Committee. Nicola shares her journey, insights, and advice, along with what International Women's Day means to her. Read more below:

What inspired you to pursue a career in construction/design?

In secondary school, I had an incredible Design and Technology teacher, Mrs Rogers, who believed in showing girls the wide range of STEM career opportunities. She went above and beyond, organising various extracurricular activities, trips, and events to showcase the STEM world to us.

Mrs Rogers linked the skills we were learning at school to real-world applications and broke down perceived barriers about the STEM industries, making it feel entirely possible to aspire to a career in STEM.

She believed in me, so I believed in myself – Mrs Rogers told me I could, and I did!

What challenges have you overcome as a woman in the industry?

I have been fortunate not to face many challenges due to my gender, or at least not obvious ones. I've been lucky to have a personality and self-belief that my sex does not dictate my ability to do my job well or how I learn.

However, not all young women are in the same position. Some lack the encouragement from family or teachers that I had. The story might be different for someone else.

There is still unconscious bias in the industry, not necessarily towards being female, but more subtly about societal expectations of women and their roles both in and out of work.

The world is not yet fully set up for equality in favour of women, particularly in terms of flexibility in childcare arrangements. It often assumes women are the main caregivers, while many men and partners are sharing these responsibilities. The industries we work in don't always align with this modern reality.

Despite this, I've seen remarkable improvements in equality, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace since I started. These changes are not just surface-level; they are meaningful and impactful. I work every day to be part of this continual improvement, both in my role at work and through STEM activities with schools, encouraging everyone to consider a career in the construction industry.

What advice would you give to young women entering the field?

Believe in yourself. If you encounter bias, call it out – whether it's in projects, contracts, job adverts, designs, or meetings. Your value extends beyond your CV or academic qualifications. Your viewpoint, background, soft skills, perception of situations, and ability to read people are all invaluable.

Women often bring a different perspective to meetings, design solutions, and conversations. Different is good. I recommend Matthew Syed's book: Rebel Ideas: The Power of Thinking Differently which illustrates my point about diverse teams and diverse thinking.

What progress have you seen in gender diversity, and what still needs to change?

Over the past 20 years, I've seen significant progress in gender diversity, not just in terms of male and female representation, but also in the LGBTQIA+ community. There is a greater willingness to understand and value diverse perspectives.

I've witnessed growth in the understanding of the 'power of diverse teams' and how they can think, design, and create better.

However, we need to keep challenging the status quo and not assume what we are doing now is perfect. There is still more work to be done.

A simple yet powerful call to action is for everyone in the industry to become a STEM ambassador and visit at least one educational setting per year. When a child sees someone who looks like them in a job they never knew existed it can create a pathway, hope, and reality for children.

As an example, no one had run a sub-4-minute mile before Sir Roger Bannister did on 6 May 1954. At that time, it was believed to be physiologically impossible. Bannister's achievement showed that it was possible, and as of June 2022, more than 1,755 athletes have broken the four-minute mile barrier. This proves that once a pathway is shown, people will follow it.

Who has inspired or supported you along the way?

I have thought about this often, and there have been many inspirational people in my life, through school, college, university and work. I have many people to thank for the support so far, too many to mention individually.

I have been so fortunate to have had support at home throughout my life, support at work and with friends.

But I have to say my greatest inspiration and where I believe my strength of mind to do anything, has to be from my wonderful Mom. My Mom, is so clever – she was a top of the class student at school. She has a mind for numbers – even now, and worked for the Britannic Insurance Company in the accounts department. Back in the mid-70s, women often had to leave their jobs when they had children. And my mom had to leave her job behind when she gave birth to my sister.

My Mom looked after my sister, myself and brother at home full time and my dad worked as a Milkman.

I grew up seeing my mom decorate the house, change a plug, repair things, use her ingenuity to solve problems. She never once said I can’t do this because I am a woman.

Initially, I used to say my interest in engineering started at school, but as I grew older, I recognised that my mom's skillset, tenacity, belief, and positive 'I can' attitude were always there, shaping me.

Thank you to the most important woman in my life – My Mom - for everything you are, everything you have done and everything you continue to be. I love you.