SANRAL prioritises women in construction on its R400-million Western Region slope stabilisation projects. In Groot Brak alone, SANRAL is investing R240 million to stabilise the slope in a bid to prevent rockfalls and slope slipping. Women lead the charge on the projects. Deline Malgas, project liaison officer in Groot Brak, reaches out to unemployed people in the area to help them apply for work opportunities on site. On the R26 million Piekenierskloof Pass, Mquanlla van Wyk hauls a thick rope to support abseilers who dangle 100m off the ground as they work on the slope. Gelcon Civils, a women-owned construction company, is subcontracted to do traffic accommodation on the project. Kamogelo Monembe manages two subcontractors who work on the N1 between Riemhoogte and Skietfontein. “There aren’t many black female civil engineers, but it is time that changes. Young girls need to step up and be counted,” she says.