A journey of pursuing of something you ever dreamt of makes a person achieve more in life.

This is what Alena Mucunabitu experienced when she followed her passion to work in a male dominated field.

The 34-year-old was the first female building inspector to join in the Suva City Council (SCC).

For Ms Mucunabitu, the mental stress for working with men was one of the challenges she had faced when she start her profession at SCC in April 2018.

“I was working at a private structural engineering firm as an engineering technician when a vacancy opened up with SCC for a building inspector,” she said.

“I was encouraged by a former supervisor to apply for the position.”

She said working in a male dominated sector seemed daunting at first but there was an excitement to it where she was going against the norm, so to speak.

“Society’s expectation that a man would turn up for construction site inspections or be in a decision-making position.”

She also elaborated on the mental stress that came with the imposed need to prove herself amongst men.

“The ways in which I was able to tackle the challenges as a building inspector was to know the work and do the tasks diligently,” she said.

Her Role
Ms Mucunabitu’s duties as an building inspectors are tasked with carrying out site inspections (within the city boundaries) to ensure compliance with approved plans and specifications.

She advised those who wanted to work in a male dominated field to speak for themselves and take a stand for what they want to become in life.

“I say go for it.”

“Your career is your choice, and if there are pessimists, let your actions on the field speak for you,” she said.

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