As a child, Jo Wilton spent hours in the sandpit building roads, bridges and tunnels. At 15, she was captivated by a tour of the Auckland University Engineering Department and knew she’d found her calling. In her thirties, she was breaking stereotypes, running toolbox meetings on site as a project engineer while eight months pregnant. And now, at 46, she’s still leading the way having celebrated the opening of the Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway – a multimillion-dollar roading project she managed for the last eight years.
From her Flagstaff home, the Waka Kōtahi Regional Manager of Infrastructure Delivery for Waikato and Bay of Plenty sat down with the Weekly to talk about her inspiring career and life so far.
“Both my parents were in the Air Force, so I grew up on Hobsonville’s base. Dad built my sister and I a sandpit and I remember spending lots of time building roads and tunnels. I think my parents would look back and say it probably makes perfect sense I ended up where I am. I’m pretty much doing the same thing with much bigger toys.
I was around 15 when I first thought about becoming an engineer. I was offered an opportunity to attend an Auckland University open day for girls. My favourite part was in the deep, dark basement on Symonds Street in Auckland, where the civil engineering labs were. They had a seismic table and were testing reactions of buildings by shaking them to destruction. I instantly thought, ‘I so want to do that.’
Now I manage 17 project managers in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty for Waka Kōtahi. My job is about looking after people and when there are problems, trying to be part of the solution.
I love it. You spend so much time at work, so I’ve really learnt there’s no point if you don’t love it. But, of course, I’m a mother too and my family is the most important.
My son Alex was born in 2007. Naive as I was with my first baby, I took two weeks off before he was due and of course he was three weeks late. I was so bored, I started mowing the lawns every day.
With my daughter Samantha, I submitted everything for my chartered engineer qualification the day before I gave birth. After Alex, I thought, ‘I’m not finishing early’ and stopped work the day before she was due. She arrived at 8am on her due date.
Jo with her kids Alex and Samantha.
Six weeks later, I had the interview for my submission. They asked me what I learnt on maternity leave. I clearly remember answering, ‘Have you ever been a sleep-deprived mother trying to get two children somewhere on time? I learned time management.’
Growing up, my father was away a lot for work. But when he was home, he was really present. He came to all our netball games and trips. They’re some of my best memories, so I make sure my kids get that as well.
Mum left the Air Force when we were born, but was always a hard worker and did contract sewing from home.
When I told my parents I wanted to be a civil engineer and work in construction, they were like, ‘Of course you can – why wouldn’t you?’ Never once did they ask, ‘Are you sure?’ or say, ‘Thats not really a career for women.’
That attitude encouraged me to do the same. My son once told me he was going to own an ice-cream shop. I replied, ‘Awesome, just make sure you have mint choc-chip for me!’
My husband is an engineer too. We met on a job where he was employed as a site engineer and I was a student doing my practical hours.
He definitely caught my eye. At home, there’s no shop talk because we work for different companies, but we do both enjoy a good bridge.
There are so many more women now than when I started in 1996. It’s fantastic to see. When I was at university, there were only four women in my year of civil engineering and the only one that stayed was me.
But I had to prove myself.
Once someone walked on to my site and asked to seethe project manager. I replied, ‘Yes, you’re talking to her.’ He couldn’t
believe it.
Māori King Kiingi (left) visits the expressway site with his wife Makau Ariki in July 2021.
In the early days, there were wolf whistles, people asking me to make them coffee or papers put on my desk and being told to type this up, which never happened to male colleagues. But I don’t see that now. There’s been a major culture shift and the chauvinism is no longer, which is great.
For other women considering this as a career, I would say, ‘Just make sure you love the job.'”
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