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Above, Engineer Joy Makumbe inspects the foundation of a house to be constructed by her company

Ruth Butaumocho Gender Editor
Heavy engineering firms across the globe are institutions where physique is a major attribute.

Pushing a metal wheelbarrow laden with concrete is a menial task that does not only require energy, but agility to move with haste and tact.

It even becomes more daring to walk on a steel structure to detect any defects that may have arisen during construction, never mind making your way up on a steel scaffold 40 metres up the building as part of your routine work.

But for Engineer Joy Makumbe such activities do not present any challenge, but actually give her an adrenaline rush and eagerness to explore more.

She is among a few female civil engineers in Zimbabwe who have become a good antidote to testosterone-heavy workplaces.

“Civil engineering is a passion, it is my life,” she said during an interview in Harare recently.

From the time she acquired her professional qualifications back in the late 1990s, she has been part of the changing skyscape of Harare through her involvement in some of the architectural work and construction activities.

Although she has straddled the region taking part in construction projects, Eng Makumbe says her biggest achievement to date was partaking in the construction of Megawatt Building, as a junior engineer attached to Costain in 1994.

It was indeed a humbling experience to Eng Makumbe, then a novice, who could not differentiate an AutoCad from a precision instrument.

“Although it has been more than two decades since I took part in the project, it was a learning experience which is still embedded in my memory and it strengthened my resolve to spend my life in engineering. Whenever I pass by Megawatt Building, I always smile with satisfaction.

“Working as part of the team for the project gave me a good appreciation of the industry and fine-tuned my resolve to become an engineer, with the support from my father who had always encouraged me to take up the profession from the time I was a little girl,” she said.

Eng Makumbe said she did not take up the profession as some kind of feminist protest, as many would want to believe, but her father inspired her to venture into the field, which was then regarded as a male domain.

Seeing the abundant opportunities in the engineering industry, her father, who was employed by Nestle, would often take her to the engineering section of the manufacturing plant to familiarise her with the machinery.

“From the time I was a little girl, I already had an appreciation of technical things, how machines operate and how to draw and design. My father nurtured my interest in engineering,” she enthused.

By the time she was in secondary school, Eng Makumbe would join other artisans and engineers, working at the company during her school holidays, while girls of her age were busy browsing through fashion magazines and playing house.

“It was tough and challenging, but I knew that I would one day become an engineer,” she recalled.

After garnering nine As at O- Level, she took up Science subjects for her A-Level studies to enhance her chances of pursuing a career of her choice.

With the support of her parents, particularly her father who was already referring to her as “Eng Makumbe”, she enrolled for a civil engineering degree at the University of Zimbabwe, further concretising her aspirations.

Soon after completing her degree, her first job was with Inter Consult Zimbabwe, which honed her skills in civil engineering, while affording her an opportunity to expand her horizons in a field she cherished most.

Realising that she needed to continue developing professionally, Eng Makumbe left the organisation and joined the Gweru City Council.

She has also worked for Chegutu Municipality where she was the town engineer, and a number of private firms among them GIZ.

During her tenure with some of the organisations she pursued different studies and attained a Masters in Water Resources as well as a Masters in Business Administration, giving her a competitive edge among her colleagues.

“Acquiring professional qualifications coupled with my experience in the field has enabled me to improve my work and be able to share it with others, especially those who are still training,” said Eng Makumbe, who is also a part-time lecturer in the Civil Engineering Department at the Harare Polytechnic.

As her passion for engineering grew, she formed a construction company, Marjolic Construction, to enable her to interface with different aspects of engineering, since she had been confined to civil engineering for a long time.

The company, which has been operational for five years, employs a lot of female engineers, to give them leverage, while empowering them to acquire knowledge and skills.

“Our civil engineer, electrician, mechanical engineer and the foreperson are all women. I have learnt over the years that women may not be as physically strong as men, but they are very sharp and do pay attention to detail, an aspect which is critical in engineering,” said Eng Makumbe.

Through her company, she has managed to undertake and complete several construction projects for individuals in and around Harare.

Eng Makumbe, however, concedes that it has not been easy for her to penetrate the industry and get acceptance because of patriarchal stereotypes, where women are still looked down upon, despite the growing number of the female populace who are engineers.

She says she sometimes loses a contract the moment an organisation realises that the project is being headed by a woman.

In some instances, Eng Makumbe has often been mistaken for a front office lady or a secretary by clients who visit her office soliciting for the services of an engineer.

“More often than not whenever clients phone, they demand to speak to Mr Makumbe, the engineer, putting so much emphasis even though I would have introduced myself Eng Ma- kumbe.”

However, that has not dampened her passion to pursue a career which she loves most and is now encouraging more girls currently in school to take up engineering.

She is doing this through a trust, the Joy Makumbe Trust, which was set up to mentor and offer career guidance to girls from disadvantaged communities.

She believes that in engineering one stands and falls by their decisions, and not by gender.

“I take satisfaction in my job and I know that what I am building and designing will outlive many generations. It is that kind of joy, the inner satisfaction that I get, which I would want other girls to have when they venture into engineering,” said Eng Makumbe.

When she is not climbing the scaffold, Eng Makumbe, who hopes to be an aerobic trainer in the future, spends her time practising zumba and salsa.

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