The Developers Digest Q1 Issue

32
opinion
By Etta Madete Mukuba
Affordable Housing Lead, Build X Studios
What is equality in your own words?
Equality is about ensuring that women have a
voice in spaces that have historically been maledominated.
Design and construction is one such
sector.
In Kenya, only 8% of registered architects and 11%
of engineers are women. Female representation
for construction jobs is even lower. Out of 138k
registered construction workers in the industry,
women only represent 3%. Equality in this case is
about coming up with strategies and policies that
ensure we have better representation.
In the affordable housing space where my specialty
lies, gender equality can only be achieved through
participation of women in all aspects of housingrelated
policymaking, design, construction, and
community engagement.
Why do you think diversity in the
workplace is so important?
The services rendered by any company affect
both genders. It is therefore only fair that there is
a representation of both genders at all levels. You
cannot come up with exceptional products if the
voices of all stakeholders have not been considered.
1. In your opinion, what is the nexus between
digitization and gender equality and how
can technology bridge the gender gap in the
industry?
In my view and from the context of the sector
I am working in, that is, Affordable Housing,
Architecture and Real Estate, digitisation is the
only way we can reach scale. It is the only way
to create a gender equal world, a gender equal
society of home ownership, of construction and
design. Technology therefore acts as that bridge
to truly scale our impact.
2. What sacrifices have you had to make for your
career as a woman?
I am one of seven children, I am a twin, I am
30 years old and I only got married last year. I
don’t have children yet so I think the fact that
I chose to get into the career that I am in now,
in Architecture and that it took me 3 years to
become a registered architect, 3 years of masters
and still doing a few more studies; I feel like I have
had to do a lot of education and self training to
find my place in the boardroom. I believe maybe
for other people, the strategy would have been
different.
Back to the question. I think the biggest sacrifice
I have made is that I chose to be a career woman
and that means there are some aspects of kids
and family that sometimes get compromised. I
sometimes try to balance the best I can but that’s
the reality. And to clarify, it is not that I do not
want kids, I do want kids but sometimes you have
to pace yourself because there are only so many
things you can do at the same time.
3. What practical measures can individuals,
companies and society take to support greater
gender balance in the real estate sector?
We need policies that encourage and support
women who are often the ones underrepresented
to lend their voice to issues that
affect both genders.
Women who are leading in the sector also need to
come forth and mentor the younger ones
4. Are you currently working on any exciting
new projects? How do you think that will help
people and communities?
I am currently leading the Zima Homes team as
Co-Founder and CEO and the Affordable Housing
Lead for BuildX.
Zima Homes is an affordable housing project by
Adopting a Long-term Perspective in the Real Estate Sector