ACT 2024 Australian of the Year Jo Farrell, with her hard hat and hammer at the National Museum exhibition launch. Photo: National Museum of Australia.
Days after Jo Farrell was named 2024 ACT Australian of the Year, she was asked to provide two items that best told her story. Without blinking, she nominated her hammer and hard hat.
For Jo, founder of Build Like A Girl, the two were a given. “The hard hat I wear every day at work, the hammer, it was like my rite of passage into the industry,” she said.
“It was quite an expensive hammer, it was the sort of thing you should only use when you’re qualified – you had to earn it to swing it.”
The hammer and hard hat are part of a new exhibition at the National Museum of Australia (NMA), in conjunction with the National Australia Day Council, showcasing significant objects chosen by all the state and territory recipients of the 2024 Australian of the Year.
In 2020, Jo set up Build Like a Girl, a not-for-profit organisation that mentors women and matches them with training and employment in the construction industry. She also works with government, industry bodies and unions to help them recruit and train women in trade roles. Since Build Like A Girl started, she has steered 23 women into apprenticeships.
Yes, she says, a lot of work has been done to help women enter the male-dominated building industry, but it is still far from an easy road.
“Women are still seen as a distraction in the industry or told they’re not strong enough,” she said. “I say it is more about ability, about team work – and not to listen to people who say you can’t do it.
“Women will be told they are stepping into a male-dominated industry where they have no place, they are made to feel they don’t belong. My advice is to hone in on people who believe you should be there. That’s where the support comes from.
“Yes it is a physical job but so is nursing or childcare – lifting a child is heavier than most thing builders have to lift.”
But there is still much work to do, she says. Seventy-four per cent of women drop out of their first year building apprenticeship, compared to 44 per cent of men.
Acting director of the NMA, Katherine McMahon, said the recipients had chosen personal objects that reflected their life’s story, work and experiences.
“We are delighted to display these captivating objects selected by the extraordinary state and territory recipients,” she said. “These objects underpin their personal history, reveal significant moments in their lives and connect to the broader social and political impact they have.”
CEO of the National Australia Day Council, Mark Fraser AO CVO, said: “In these challenging times, these objects give us a sense of hope that our brightest days are ahead.
“Our Australians of the Year from each state and territory are, in their own way, making an impact – socially, environmentally or politically. They remind us of what can grow out of small seeds of action.”
Items from the other state and territory winners, including Professor Georgina Long AO and Richard Scolyer AO (NSW), Blair McFarland (NT), Marco Renai (Queensland), Stephanie Trethewey (Tasmania) and Janine Mohamed (Victoria), ranged from a unicorn to a pair of children’s shoes, a compass to a triathalon medal.
The 2024 Australian of the Year exhibition will be on display until Sunday, 11 February 2024 and will then tour nationally. The exhibition is open daily at the National Museum of Australia, Acton. Admission is free.
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