Amal Iharkachen joins the QIP Board

Queers in Property are thrilled to announce the appointment of Amal Iharkachen to our board. We are honoured and humbled to have such an amazing individual dedicate their time and effort to assist in the support of all LGBTQ+ individuals in the property and construction industry.

We sat down and got to know Amal better.

Q: Why did you choose to work within the property industry?

From a young age I had a creative mind, and my parents helped me materialise that dream by pointing me towards plastics art and interior design during high school which led to me undertake a Masters of Architecture. From that point I travelled the world to kick start my career.

Q: What is the change that you’d like to see in the property and construction industry?

I’d love to see more support provided to queer persons in the construction industry. I find that LGBT people are worried to speak up about their sexuality on construction sites due to fear of judgment, being bullied or rejection.

Q: How do you feel being a LGBTIQ+ person in the property industry?

Usually, I feel good about it. I do get uncomfortable at times around men who make inappropriate comments in respect to two women being in a relationship. I’ve reached a stage of my life where I no longer feel that my identity needs to be accepted in my workplace. We are all equal. Full stop. I don’t go above and beyond to be accepted anymore. 

Q: Why do you think there is lower LGBTIQ+ representation within property and construction, than other industries?

To work in the construction industry you aren’t required to complete tertiary education. You can start off your career as a carpenter and be a General Manager in a firm with 200 employees just 10 years later. The construction industry is full of small privately owned businesses, without management structures including a HR team. All of these factors don’t support active LGBTIQ+ inclusion in my view. 

Q: What advice would you provide to queers looking to enter the property industry?

Don’t worry, you have more allies than you think. Keep your chin up. Be yourself and remember that the lion does not lose sleep over the opinion of sheep.

Q: How would you improve engagement and increase representation of the LGBTIQ+ community in the industry?

Through education and loud and visible awareness campaigns. I feel that by queer people sharing their stories helps to connect with the human side of everyone.

I am also hoping to encourage Developers to put strict requirements for builders who want to participate in their tenders around providing evidence of diversity and inclusion programs and policies.

Q: If you feel comfortable, please share a story of your experience about coming out at work

I hid my sexuality at work for over 10 years as it was illegal where I’ve lived. Since I’ve moved to Australia six years ago, I just thought that it was enough. I was tired of lying and not being myself. I think what sums up my coming out experience is how I have to continually correct the gender of my partner. I regularly am asked what my husband does, or “woah! you’re back at work so soon after having a baby”.

Email us at hi@queersinproperty.com.au if you’d like to get in touch with Amal. 

Two of our amazing Queerleaders were recently featured in an article on Urban discussing the importance of queer visibility.

Check it out

It’s not every day you see the following words grouped together; migrant, lesbian, construction – empowered. Meet Nelma; Senior Project Manager, CSR Limited. An assertive and confident woman, taking perceived gender  ‘norms’ and insisting on being visible within a male dominated industry. We caught up with Nelma as part of our QIPs spotlight series to discuss her obsession with construction as a child, her secrets to confidence, and what barriers she overcame as a queer person within construction.

 

Q: Why did you choose to work within the property industry?

Like many I ended up here by chance, taking the right opportunity at the right time led me to property, but primarily my obsession with construction as a child, I guess blindly led me to where I am now 

 

Q: What is the change that you’d like to see in the property and construction industry?

Diversity in different executive levels, diversity can lead to change 

 

Q: How do you feel being a LGBTIQ+ person in the property industry?

I have always been proud but in the last 4-5 years I have seen the shift towards acceptance and have felt more comfortable ‘normalising’ my personal life at work, and I have worked with some major players that have LGBTIQ+ support networks and have been supportive such as Charter Hall and CBRE, so seeing that shift has been amazing.

 

Q: Have you had to overcome barriers or challenges in property? Generally or as a queer person

My barrier has primarily come from being a woman in the industry and trying to break through the ‘glass ceiling’ primarily working in the Industrial property sector. As a migrant woman it has been challenging, where the majority of people I have dealt with are men, and having to deal with some misogynist behaviour has been challenging, not difficult but challenging.

 

Q: Why do you think there is lower LGBTIQ+ representation within property and construction, than other industries?

The key is ‘representation’, as I believe there is plenty of LGBTIQ+ people working in the Industry but from my experience we didn’t want to be singled out because of who we are but rather let our skills speak for themselves, therefore we have tried to remain silent in an industry that voices strong traditions of ‘white macho man’ and some of us have being part of ‘the jokes’ and ‘light banter’ so it’s easier not to stand out which leads to the us not having major representation, but from what I see now things are changing.   

 

Q: What advice would you provide to queers looking to enter the property industry?

Be confident and be assertive in your values, and never be afraid to stamp out bad behaviour and know that support is all around you. 

 

Q: How would you improve engagement and increase representation of the LGBTIQ+ community in the industry?

You have to lead by example, I come from organisations that support the LGBTIQ+ community loudly and that has provided me with encouragement to continue that loud support, so I hope by creating and being part of a supportive network within my own organisation can lead to further change.

 

Q: If you feel comfortable, please share a story of your experience about coming out at work 

As many of us coming out at work means coming out to everyone ALL the time,  every time you start a new job, you have a new colleague and you have to come out again and again. I had horrible stories about telling someone that I was gay and they instantly making that connection to a sexual story and thinking that our identity is very much connected to sex, which for me is insulting as its much more than that, so when I started my latest job I decided to tell ‘normal’ stories about my life that gave them insight into my orientation, i.e. I would say ‘oh yeah my partner and I went to that restaurant because SHE likes that place, SHE and I went on this holiday’, I don’t feel the need to come out anymore.

Australia’s first Pride Centre is opening its doors in 2020! We’re so excited to enjoy this new LGBTIQ+ community hub, but first, Victorian Pride Centre needs our help!

We’ve joined the PRIDE REGISTRY to help fundraise the money needed to complete the fit out. We know these times are challenging, however in times of need the LGBTI community has a history of rallying together, if you’re in a position to contribute to our Giving Circle to fund one of the ground floor booths follow the link in our below to help us raise $9,000.

We’re passionate about building inclusive environments and excited to be able to contribute to the Victorian Pride Centre – a new safe space that celebrates our LGBTIQ community.

Contribute

 

 

Where are all the same sex attracted women?  We recongise that property and construction has a significant gender imbalance, particularly in construction where women make up only 3% of the workforce compared to 51% of the non-construction workforce according to NAWIC – National Association of Women in Construction (Australia National). Is this lack of representation why we don’t come out as lesbian or bisexual in the workplace?

We want to be champions of change for our queer women community to help eliminate the imbalance and improve representation. So as a part of an ongoing Queers in Property campaign, we’re Desperately Seeking Susan… Ellen, Jane, Ruby and all women to engage, connect and empower same sex attracted women. 

Together with all of our Queersleaders and allies, we hope to challenge the embedded gender stereotypes and help our Susans through the power of visibility. 

Join us to learn more about this campaign.

Did you know that LGBTIQ+ women are 12% less likely to be out at work than men? This finding from PWC/Pride in Diversity’s report ‘Where are all the women?’ sparked AGL Shine and ANZ Pride to form a LGBTIQ+ women network called Rainbow Womxn.

Rainbow Womxn provides a space for professional LGBTIQ+ womxn, including non-binary and gender diverse womxn, to build authentic connections with one another.

We’ve recently teamed up with the network leaders to share ideas around how we can support LGBTIQ+ women in the workplace.

If you’d like to join to the dedicated Rainbow Womxn network and be kept up to date on their events, contact Alix Sampson (right) via asampson@agl.com.au 

If you’re not a LGBTIQ+ womxn, we encourage you to spread the word so LGBTIQ+ womxn can be connected and feel empowered to be their authentic selves in all aspects of their lives.

Three property Queerleaders deeply inspired by the quote “be who you needed when you were younger”.

Meg Patten, Ben Rowe and Rossco Karabelas formed Queers in Property to empower the LGBTIQ+ community with a strong network to help them achieve their personal and career goals.  

“We started chatting about our own journeys in property towards the end of 2017 and how we’d all struggled to chart our career paths. We all agreed that at some point being lesbian or gay has hindered our confidence and opportunities” said Meg.

The event was put together purely based on word of mouth, and an impressive graphics pack from Studio White Noise. Ben recounted that “when we started thinking about QIP’s, we each knew a gay or lesbian in the industry, and after a lot of asking around we were able to fill a boardroom”. 

At the kick off event, we spoke about why the network was necessary to a group of 15 smiling faces across many sectors within property and construction. The response was fantastic, and accordingly gave us the confidence to move to our LEGIT coming out.