Master Builders breaks its own glass ceiling with first female chief executive

The blokey glass ceiling in one of Australia's most male-dominated industries has been smashed with the appointment of a female chief executive to lead the construction sector's chief lobby group.

Denita Wawn's appointment at Master Builders Australia marks the first time the national body has had a female chief executive in its 127-year history.

Mrs Wawn, a former chief executive of the Brewers Association of Australia and New Zealand, replaces Wilhelm Harnisch who was at the helm for 15 years.

Master Builders chose International Women's Day to announce Mrs Wawn's appointment, citing her leadership qualities and success in driving industry campaigns at the National Farmers Federation and the Australian Hotels Association.

Mrs Wawn told The World Today her appointment represented a new era in terms of cultural change at Master Builders and across the building and construction industry.

"We need to ensure that women in the industry are recognised for their efforts just as much as men, particularly in large, medium and small sized businesses," she said.

But Mrs Wawn rejected a suggestion that the timing of today's announcement could be perceived as tokenistic.

"Not at all. My appointment was certainly a rigorous and merit-based selection process that just happened to find a female in the role," Mrs Wawn said.

"It was a great opportunity to highlight on International Women's Day that women can strive for excellence and they can be leaders in their field, including in male dominated area in building and construction but also in the political world."

Building and construction remains the domain of men, with less than 1 per cent of women in building trades and slightly more in professional roles such as site and project management.

However, on the gender pay gap, Mrs Wawn said she was "absolutely" happy with her negotiated pay deal compared to her predecessor.

"Women can undertake these roles. It doesn't matter if you have kids or not, we do have the confidence and we do have the capacity to take leadership roles in Australia," Mrs Wawn said.

On broader policy challenges, Mrs Wawn said she would be addressing housing affordability and developing the right messages to ensure the campaign for a corporate tax cut over 10 years succeeds.

Mrs Wawm is an internal appointment, having been general manager of operations at Master Builders Australia for the past year.

Follow Peter Ryan on Twitter @peter_f_ryan and on his Main Street blog.