Research approach

We interviewed six employers, selected across a range of industries and across New Zealand.  We selected employers that employed women  where the occupations were male-dominated (more than 70 percent male) and required a level four qualification or above.  The profile of the companies is set out in Table 1 below.

We also interviewed the tradeswomen working at the company.  As some companies had more than one woman employed, we interviewed 13 tradeswomen in total.  All interviews were conducted at the workplaces of the women.

We have used the information from the interviews to present a case study of each of the organisations. Each case study includes: what the organisation does, how they attracted their women staff, and an understanding of the benefits or the women involved and for the organisations. In the case studies we have used quotes that were directly gained from the interviews and tried to keep the comments, as much as possible, in the voice and style of the participants.

Companies we interviewed