I am so honored to launch this year’s Women in Construction Week. Throughout this week, the entire industry will recognize women for their contributions and achievements in construction, and their dedication to helping mentor and guide other women grow interest in our profession.

Twenty years ago, a kid fresh out of college, I stepped onto my first construction site. Those formative days are now a blur, but I do remember that there was only one woman on that first project. Over the years, I have watched a tremendous transition take place and now, I can proudly say that my current project management team is comprised of 28% women.

Every day, I am surrounded by an incredible group of talented women who love this industry as much as I do. To be honest, I don’t view the contributions of my female counterparts as important because they are women but because of the incredible work they do on every project. I appreciate their innovation, intelligence and talents. Their energy and enthusiasm are contagious, and they don’t quit until they’ve accomplished what’s needed. The women at PC bring different perspectives, solutions and negotiation tactics that help us excel in our industry. In fact, at PC, we have been able to improve our project delivery and client relationships because we’ve created positions that are designed to maximize the skills, knowledge and talents of several women in our company. They make incredible contributions as part of our management team, and I am proud to have the opportunity to work with a few of them every day.

I hope we continue to turn the tables on this traditionally male industry. At PC Construction, we have two extraordinary women as part of our engineer-in-training program. Even more exciting, they are both planning to go the superintendent career path. I have the pleasure of working with one of them right now and am inspired by her dedication to the work. It gives me so much hope for the future.

Construction is such a rewarding career. The benefits are great, the growth potential is exciting, and there can be tremendous flexibility. It offers opportunities to solve problems and work with a large network of people to achieve a common goal. And it never gets old driving by a project you helped build and seeing how it positively impacts the community.

Over the course of the next week, you’ll get to meet some of the women at PC who play crucial roles in projects constructed along the East Coast. I hope they inspire young women and demonstrate how fulfilling and rewarding a construction career can be. In the meantime, hats off to all the women at PC Construction. I’m proud to be your fellow employee owner.

Pictured above, Dan Stromberg, far left, collaborating with members of his project team.

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A vast variety of topics were discussed, such as the future of generative AI, male allyship, diversity initiatives, boosting credentials and breaking barriers. In particular, one topic that stood out was a moderated panel discussion on the concept of mentorship versus sponsorship and the ties between male allyship. We are finding that women have mentors but are lacking sponsors. While mentorship provides advice and preparation, sponsorship provides much needed exposure and opportunity for women to advance. Having a male ally step up and sponsor women is crucial to the advancement of women in the construction industry. In a survey of 770 women in the construction industry conducted by Ambition Theory and ECCER, it was found that 88% of women want to be in a leadership role, yet 72% of women had never had a woman supervisor. Seeing women in leadership roles creates a sense of belonging and helps build a confident mindset.

In another panel, three senior male leaders discussed their experiences acting as catalysts to advance women in construction. This discussion involved pay equity analysis within their companies, general awareness of needs of women on a construction site, and deliberately building policies to attract and retain a diverse workforce. There were certainly some key takeaways on how allyship makes workplaces more satisfying and companies more successful.

Over the next few months, the lessons learned and knowledge gained at this conference will be shared at PC Construction to further our work to strengthen successes for women in construction and continue to build a diverse and authentic workforce.

Source:
Building Better: A Women in Construction Study
Ambition Theory / ECCER 2023

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My story began much like many others in the industry – I was exposed to something that just clicked. For me, I grew up watching This Old House. I was fascinated by the transformation that occurs during the construction process and I loved all the different phases: the tearing down, digging up, the framework, the systems, the problem-solving along the way, and finally dressing up the final space. It’s a dynamic process, and I was immediately interested in being a part of every step.

Not only is the construction process dynamic, but so is life and the world. During my tenure at PC, I’ve gotten married, had children, been through a pandemic and went from being a green project engineer to an experienced construction professional. Every step of the way, I had a supportive company and encouraging leaders rooting for me and supporting my goals, both personal and professional.

During that time, I’ve also seen the industry change and grow. As construction professionals, we are looked upon to put work in place but also to share our expertise, to be partners with the owners and designers and help guide their vision. We are more technically advanced and efficient that I ever could have imagined 20 years ago. It’s amazing to think about all the change and growth that I have seen over the years. It makes the future even more exciting to imagine.

This year’s Women in Construction Week theme – ‘Keys to the Future’ – celebrates the strength and knowledge of women and the vital role they play in shaping the future of the construction industry. How can women shape the future of our industry? How can we use our collective strength and knowledge to make a difference? The opportunities are abundant! We need more craftworkers. We need people who can deftly move between the technical requirements of the job while excelling at skills such as navigating difficult conversations. We need people who can organize. We need people who can lead. We need people who can inspire others to work hard and grow. All of these industry needs are areas where women can shine and bring unique perspectives and energy.

The future is bright, and we need a diverse team to accomplish great things!

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Industry wide, only about 9% of the construction workforce is made up of women, and only 1% in field positions. At PC, women make up of 16% of all employees, 4% of craft/field employees, 21% of our operations team, 16% of managers and 12% of executives. These numbers are exciting because we are above industry average, but we are far from a 50-50 split of men and women so there is also room for improvement. All of our superintendents are male, and we hope that will change as we continue to develop the next generation of operational leaders at PC. Research has shown that more diverse teams perform at a higher level and are more profitable, so as employee-owners, we know that having more women on our teams is good for all of us.

During this morning’s event, we broke into smaller groups to share memorable and challenging experiences from our careers in construction. Some women shared stories of being in the field for over 30 years and described how the atmosphere and attitudes have changed in positive ways, especially with support from our PC team. We talked about running jobs while pregnant, and then being a new parent and the challenges that come with that transition. While every woman’s experience is different, we all relate to being a minority in a male-dominated field, and it was nice to share and learn from our fellow PC women.

A common theme was one of the results of COVID – increased flexibility in remote work and flexible hours. Some women talked about how they embrace flexible hours to better suit their family’s schedules. Others value eliminating long commutes a few days a week, allowing more time with their children. And these benefits extend well beyond just women in construction, but to all employees in all industries, and are so important to increasing fulfillment as a whole person.

As we look to the future, we will continue getting our team of amazing women together, connect the field and the office side of the company, and reinforcing One Team, One PC. From providing safety gear that is made specifically for women to planning trainings on negotiations and critical conversations, we are excited about the future of Women in Construction at PC and hope to continue to be an example for the industry!

Check out this video honoring the women of PC, past and present.

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After graduating from high school, I applied at PC Construction with only a little experience in the industry and no idea what trade I wanted as my specialty. PC brought me on board as a laborer and exposed me to a wide variety of trade work utilizing an assortment of tools, equipment and materials. After about three months with PC, I decided that carpentry was a great fit for me, and I was promoted to a carpenter helper. And, I am now a participant in Vermont’s first Commercial Carpentry Apprenticeship program!

Over the next year and a half in this program, I will earn 310 hours of classroom instruction and 3,000 hours of on-the-job training at PC in carpentry specialties such as floor and wall systems, framing and drywall, building envelop systems, roof framing, trim and cabinetry. I am so excited and grateful to be offered this incredible opportunity. I hope to further my carpentry skills on the jobsite and become a lead carpenter. When I think about my future, I hope to become a foreman and then a superintendent or even a project manager!

I enjoy working in construction because it is hands on and fast paced. Everyday I’m challenged to use critical thinking skills to solve problems and complete daily tasks to the best level of safety, quality and efficiency.

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When I entered the construction industry 30 years ago, I knew that it was dominated by males and I wondered why they should get to have all the fun. I’m pleased to have seen that gender gap shrink over the years. With an emphasis on STEM and reinforcing to girls at a young age how fun and exciting construction and engineering careers can be has certainly fueled that momentum.

There is a need in the construction industry for both craft and management and I think there is a huge opportunity for women to fill those roles. I started in the trenches, learning the trade and picking up skills along the way. I was fortunate to work with folks at PC Construction who encouraged me and let me tag along to learn from them. I took the bull by the horns and made my career what it is today. I can’t imagine it any other way.

I know how fortunate I’ve been along my career path which is why I pay it forward to the women who are now forging their paths at PC and in our industry. We have such strong, talented women on our team who are bringing innovation, efficiencies and a fresh perspective to the table every day. I couldn’t be prouder.

As we celebrate Women in Construction week, we’ll share perspectives from women who play crucial roles throughout our company and help shine a light on how women contribute to making our industry strong and vibrant. We hope the combined efforts of Women in Construction Week will inspire others and demonstrate how fulfilling and rewarding a career in construction can be.

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