Stats show less than 10 percent of workers in the construction industry are women. On job sites, the number of women is even less. Felicia Young and Carmen Franklin are among a group who formed the Women In Construction Council at Walbridge’s BN 9-13 job site to develop training, understand perspective and more
How was the Women in Construction Council (W.I.C.C.) created?
Carmen Franklin: “W.I.C.C. was formed by five women of various backgrounds Amy Darts, Safety Engineer with CT Darnell, Ebony Thompson, Safety with ACI, Felicia Young, a Labor Foreman with M.C. Dean, Justine Lagmay, an Electrician with M.C. Dean and myself, a safety engineer with Walbridge, who were inspired by a meeting that was conducted by our client’s female lead for design and contractor safety, exclusively for all women on the BN 9-13 job site. The purpose of the meeting was to get familiarized with women of various trades, their daily experiences on-site and their perspective on how to improve the job site.”
Felicia Young: “These five women developed a friendship and bond that none of us have ever experienced on a job site before. We came together to improve our site conditions to make it more conducive for women and their specific needs. This was the start of our panel and core. We grew when we began seeing and hearing the needs of other women as well as men.”
What were some ideas the group had? How did you meet?
Young: “Our first task was to ensure we had the proper amount of restrooms on site for the growing female population. Other ideas were to develop cross training of trades, childcare on or off-site and get involved with the community. From there we began to develop a team and support system to ensure other female involvement and participation. We started with having a women’s meeting once a month, but with everyone’s schedule that quickly went away. The five of us met regularly, began promoting ideas and projects to the others on a smaller scale.”
Franklin: “Some of our ideas were focused on what we could do to help improve the work environment on the job site, supporting local charities by conducting coat/food/toy drives and encouraging more women to explore various trades in the construction industry. Our W.I.C.C meeting was held on the 1st wednesday of every month originally and we also created a Facebook page (Women In Construction Committee BN 9-13) for past, current or upcoming events.”
What were some of the highlights for you in your work with W.I.C.C.?
Franklin: “Our Lunch and Learn & Panel Discussion (3/5/20 – 3/6/20) which was held during Women in Construction Week (3/5/20) was a great highlight for me because women who normally weren’t exposed to heavy equipment had the opportunity to operate the forklift, Lull forklift, man-lift, and scissor lift. The next day we hosted a panel discussion event (moderated by Felicia Young) consisting of four female prominent leaders in the construction industry; the Director of Construction, Design & Contractor Safety for our client, Sheila Eicher (Assistant Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Walbridge), Juliane Simmons (Vice President, Operations, Security & Electronic Systems, M.C. Dean) and Rhonda Lender (Division Safety Training Manager, United Academy/United Rentals). The panel was set up as a Q&A forum in which they were presented with various career questions from all the women that attended. The turnout was great with more than 75 people attending the event.”
Young: “It was a great feeling to see how we brought an idea to fruition. It was a great feeling to receive full participation from women as well as our male allies. Our site united as a family/village where everyone could participate and support each other as well as being a huge success with our local communities.”
Can a Women in Construction Council can be utilized on other projects?
Young: “Yes, it will give women a platform to build on. Women add an element of empathy and compassion to the job site. I’ve noticed that the atmosphere becomes more cohesive when working together with females.”
Franklin: “Yes! As every job site is different, it would be great to have a W.I.C.C. on every site to develop new ideas, encourage inclusion from everyone and improve morale on the job site.”