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.