A fascinating seven-year study, exploring the lived experiences of women working in manual trades in heavy industry.  Fieldwork was conducted in a remote mining town in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. Time was spent working alongside maintenance teams from both an iron ore and an oil and gas company.

The work investigates the conundrum surrounding women’s enduring low representation in skilled manual trades.  Although the impetus of the work was to understand the working life of a female maintainer, what emerged is a rich understanding of the lived experiences of both male and female maintainers and the impact of gendered practices on social change in multiple facets of modern life.

Bonita has a bachelor’s degree and First Class Honours in Sociology and Anthropology. She has just completed her work as a doctoral researcher at the University of Western Australia and has submitted her PhD for assessment.  Her thesis bridges the fields of Sociology and Engineering as she explores the lived experiences of women in manual trades.  Bonita is passionate about influencing the development of positive social transformation, smart diversity and inclusion initiatives and achieving gender parity.