EVERYDAY Rhiannon Payne’s 15-year-old daughter Charlie watches her mum leave the house in a high-vis uniform, knowing she’s on her way to work to ``smash stuff up''.
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As the co-owner and co-managing director of Macca's Demolition and Asbestos Removal, Rhiannon is an expert at breaking down physical walls and smashing gender stereotypes at the same time.
Hard work and strength are key values in Rhiannon’s life.
“I have a really big thing that you don’t get anywhere in life by sitting back and waiting for things to happen,” she said.
“Nothing has been handed to us in life, we’ve worked for it all.”
By age 19 Rhiannon had purchased her own home and by 2017 she had purchased a business.
While working for Macca's Demolition she saw a massive opportunity for the business to expand.
And with characteristic drive and a trusted business partner in Helen Hartley, she decided ‘`to just go for it’'.
They put in an offer, which was accepted, and suddenly Rhiannon was a business owner.
Rhiannon has worked in male-dominated industries her entire career and said while she was proud to have a job that challenged traditional notions of female workers, it was still important for her to stay in touch with her feminine side.
She has encountered some push-back as a tradie boss lady, but has nothing but praise for the Echuca community and the support she has received.
“Women in demolition is a bit different, but the feedback we’re getting is great.
“They say, you answer the calls, you do the quote, your work is neat and tidy and your paperwork is on point.
“I think there is so much awareness now, you tend not to see discrimination and chauvinistic attitudes in the workplace.
“It’s not too bad now because you can see the growth in the industry with the females coming through, which is a really positive thing.
“Go back 10 years, you probably wouldn’t have had that.”
But as far as Rhiannon has come and as content as she feels, she notes there is still a way to go.
Occasionally people mistake Rhiannon's role in the company and ask to see her boss — something she takes in her stride.
“You just correct them, be polite about it and move on,” she said.
“And it’s still hard to be assertive sometimes, and for people to take you as seriously.
“When I first started, I’d go out to quote and people would ask where the boys were and if I knew what I was doing.”
Rhiannon said advances in technology had helped advance the female cause.
“The world has actually developed, changes to technology means my job is not a male job anymore, it’s an anyone job.
“A lot of people think women can’t do it because it’s a physical job, but it’s 85 per cent mechanical, you don’t have to be strong or have a certain body type.
“We can be proud that our gender has come so far.”