As construction continues to be an essential industry in helping our nation’s economic recovery, firms are fighting the growing workforce shortage and looking to recruit more women than ever before. Women are making an impact in the industry by bringing new skill sets, opinions, and experiences into the office and the field – and a diverse workforce leads to stronger companies. Yes, there are certainly challenges. But perceptions and cultures are changing. During “Women in Construction Week 2021,” AGC’s ConstructorCast celebrates the successes and talks about what women have done to further the industry.

In this episode, leading women – Lori Dunn-Guion of Swinerton, Maura Hesdon of Shoemaker Construction Co., and Lauline Mitchell of BBI Construction and current NAWIC National VP – share their stories and insights on how to recruit, train and empower women in construction. Listen to find out what attracted them to construction, the skills that have helped them succeed in the industry, and the tools for building a more welcoming, safe, and inclusive workplace.

Guests:

Lori Dunn-Guion, Division Manager at Swinerton - https://swinerton.com/

Maura Hesdon, General Manager at Shoemaker Construction Co. - https://www.shoemakerco.com/

Lauline Mitchell, Project Manager at BBI Construction - http://www.bbiconstruction.com/ and 2020-2021 NAWIC National Vice President

Resources:

* All the additional resources shown below can be found on https://www.agc.org/news/2021/03/09/agc-celebrates-women-construction-week

U.S. Department of Labor workforce statistics:

• Women make up close to 50 percent of the total workforce - https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/data/facts-over-time/women-in-the-labor-force#civilian-labor-force-by-sex

• Women comprise only 10.9 percent of the current construction workforce - https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat18.htm

AGC’s Culture of CARE Sexism in the Workplace Toolkit - https://buildculture.org/make-an-impact/#educate-&-train (consists of three toolbox talks and a discussion guide to help “pledged companies” prepare for and successfully hold discussions with their employees about sexism in the workplace and create actionable next steps following those conversations)

Constructor Magazine “How Personal Protection Equipment for Women Pays Off” (March 3, 2021) - https://www.constructormagazine.com/vested-interest/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ConstructorMagazine+%28Constructor+Magazine%29

National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Home Page - https://www.nawic.org

AGC/NAWIC Partnering Agreement - https://www.nawic.org/nawic/Partners.asp

Block Kids Building Competition / NAWIC Education Foundation - https://nef-edu.org/home-page/k-12-education/block-kids-building-competition/

NAWIC Emerging Professionals Committee - https://www.facebook.com/EPNAWIC/ (email at

[email protected])

Mentoring Young Women in Construction (MyWIC) Philadelphia - https://nawicphl.org/mywic

Shoemaker Construction Co. Wins AGC Diversity & Inclusion Award (May 5, 2019) - https://gbca.com/agc-news-resources/shoemaker-construction-co-wins-agc-diversity-inclusion-award/

GBCA’s Construction Leadership Council (CLC) Coffee Chat with Maura Hesdon of Shoemaker Construction Co. - https://gbca.com/uncategorized/clc-coffee-chat-with-maura-hesdon-of-shoemaker-construction-co/

Swinerton Equity & Inclusion - https://swinerton.com/who-we-are/equity-inclusion/

Swinerton Empowering Women in Construction (Blog) - https://swinerton.com/blog/empowering-women-in-construction/