As a woman new to Australia, without any experience in construction or infrastructure projects, Imelda never imagined herself working on the biggest road project in Melbourne, Australia.

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Originally from the Republic of South Sudan, Imelda holds a bachelor’s degree in IT from Makerere University, Kampala- Uganda. She worked for ten years in the South Sudan government, starting as a personal assistant to the Minister of Labour and Human Resource Development and later becoming the office manager of the Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare.

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She moved to Australia to join her husband in February 2019, but soon after, COVID-19 hit, and they were locked down for two years. Despite this situation, Imelda remained active and efficient as it is an integral part of her personality. She started to volunteer for the Red Cross and went on to send her education qualifications to be assessed by the Australian Overseas Verification Unit awaiting to apply for university.

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Not having local experience, the job search for paid positions had left her feeling discouraged. However, a glimmer of hope emerged when she was advised through a not-for-profit organisation to apply for a paid job at Spark. Though she had reservations, she decided to take the chance and started working with Spark in June 2022 as a Team Assistant for the Social Impact team.

Since then, Imelda has played a vital role in the team, performing diverse tasks such as delivering administrative support to the management and the broader team, and helping with priority jobseeker's support.

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Despite being new to the Australian work culture and construction environment, Imelda sees this as an opportunity to learn and progress. She finds joy in learning about every aspect of her team's work, whether it is inclusive jobs, social procurement, or inclusion and diversity.

As a woman working in construction, she believes in balance and equity in the office and sees opportunities for improvement for both men and women. Her only challenge is adapting to a different work culture, and as she says:

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"Back home, we were also engaged in gender issues, but from a different perspective than in Australia."

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Imelda is encouraged by the success stories of other women, including her ex-boss, who became the country's minister despite cultural barriers. She also admires her current manager, Abbey, for giving all team members the space to bring out their best and grow. Imelda sees a career pathway in construction for herself, an industry she has grown to love.

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Imelda is an activist in women's spaces and was recently invited to speak at the International Women's Transformation Conference by the office of Vice President H.E Madam Rebecca Nyandeng -head of the gender cluster, where she gave a speech on strategies to strengthen women. The conference was a gathering of women from various fields, ranging from politics to business.

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She believes women can multitask, which helps her manage her work-life balance. She even finds balance in managing weekend plans that align with her priorities or her husband's.

Her advice to her fellow women at Spark is to have passion and a good attitude.

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“Remain positive, have a good attitude and be passionate with whatever you do because all the above lead to greater happiness, fulfilment, and productivity.”

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And lastly,

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“If you want to go fast go alone but if you want to go further go with others. Therefore, I encourage my colleagues to go with others in order to go far in life.”