AEMP Women in Equipment Leadership

AEMP WOMEN

IN EQUIPMENT LEADERSHIP

The She Get It Done foundation creates and supports construction career opportunities using social media and podcasts to explain and promote the trades to more women

BY GEORGIA KRAUSE

Awoman in construction is no longer an oxymoron. Technical, cultural, and industry changes are creating career opportunities for women in construction that just a few years ago didn’t seem possible or even exist.

Now that the stereotypes, misconceptions, and stigmas of females in equipment management jobs have faded into the past, women with established construction careers are finding they have a unique opportunity to help guide more females into what were once called ‘non-traditional jobs’ in construction.

During this year’s CONNECT 2020 in Las Vegas, AEMP hosted Women in Equipment Leadership, a round table discussion on how to lead more women into construction careers and the supporting trades. The women who participated in the round table discussion spoke with authority about what today’s women leaders can do to encourage willing employers and able women to team up to build successful careers.

According to a 2019 analysis from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), between 2017 and 2018, the number of women working in production trades increased by 17.6 percent to 276,000 workers. While over a quarter of a million females in production and extraction is notable, the reality is that just 3.4 percent of these field jobs were held by

A Women in Equipment Leadership round table discussion explored how to lead more women into women in construction careers and the 2018. Adding supporting trades.. women office staff to these statistics still brings female participation in construction to less than 10 percent of the entire construction industry. On the positive side, the percentage of women classified as construction managers increased from 5.9 percent in 2003 to 7.7 percent in 2018. Navigating where and how to get on the construction equipment career track can be challenging for women. Government sponsored apprenticeships and union training for women are growing, and private employers are training more women, in part to ease the current skilled worker shortage. But efforts to build a well-defined career map need more attention. With that in mind, Michael Lane leads by example and operates a foundation to help women find success in the heavy equipment operation segments of construction. An operating engineer herself for 13 years, Ms. Lane is a whirlwind of enthusiasm and advocacy for women who are interested in and will benefit from a trades career, especially those women who labor under the description of Michael Lane runs the She Get It Done foundation, which helps create and support construction career opportunities for women. ‘disadvantaged’.

Lane’s foundation, She Get It Done, creates and supports construction career opportunities using innovative social media and podcasts that both explains and promotes the trades. Lane also works with employers seeking to add greater diversity to their crews on how they can attract and retain women workers.

Lane has found that mentoring an inexperienced woman seeking a construction career actually begins by educating her as to what career opportunities exist and how her skill sets, such as attention to detail and interpersonal communication abilities, are exactly the foundation construction hiring managers are looking for when seeking new hires for training and apprentice programs. Lane tells women, “Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Step outside your regular boundaries. It is when you push and stretch that you prove to your own mind just how capable you really are.”

New technology and the ever-increasing reliance on digital data to improve operations have created access to jobs in construction that women with degrees in civil engineering, environmental sciences, and technology find attractive.

Natalie Kerschner Brianne Hayes, equipment operations manager for WescoTurf Inc. in Sarasota, Florida, AEMP is a successful data analyst with Branch Civil, and while her title doesn’t immediately bring a dusty construction site to mind, her work supports the rapidly developing data and IT segments driving increased efficiency and productivity in construction operations. Kirsher came to Civil from a non-construction background and took advantage of every opportunity she was offered to get in the field to get hands-on experience. “It was a bit intimidating for me at first because most of my team has 20 years or more experience have gotten better both personally and under their belt, but I’ve found staying curious professionally.” and asking questions has been a wonderful “I would advise to give my younger self to learning opportunity for me,” Kiersher says. get into organizations like AEMP early because “I know I have my own things to offer when I they give you the opportunity to listen to come to the table, and this industry has been someone else’s issues and really understand amazingly supportive.” what they are saying.”

Brianne Hayes, equipment operations “Go into the position with an open mind manager for WescoTurf Inc. in Sarasota, and be receptive.” Florida, relies on data “I would probably tell analysis to manage her fleet myself be more willing to with peak efficiency. “Our step out of your comfort whole operation depends on I would tell my zone when you’re younger key performance indicators. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. I want younger self that my competence and listen more than you’re speaking.” “I would tell my younger to know my technicians’ is not affected self that my competence productivity levels and everything about that piece of equipment,” Hayes said. by someone else’s opinion. is not affected by someone else’s opinion.” “Soak up any and all

AEMP posed this question information you can get. to the Women in Equipment Things have to change. I Leadership panel experts: guess something that I still What would you tell your younger self about tell myself every day is just keep swinging how to be successful in your construction because that’s all you can do.” career based on what you know now? “I think as women, we’re constantly trying

Here are their answers: to prove ourselves and our growth to the men

“If I were to tell myself something in the in the industry. I let that be my motivating beginning it would be to engage faster and factor for a very long time. So I think I would engage earlier. I was very hesitant to really tell my younger self that there’s other get out and delve into the industry fully, but motivation to have besides proving yourself ever since I’ve been more involved things and your worth to other people.”

CASTROL IS PASSIONATE ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS. BUT THAT’S JUST HALF OF IT. Castrol® VECTON® is also the world’s first certified carbon neutral commercial engine oil,* which helps reduce your carbon footprint. And our System Pro Technology™ delivers an extra performance reserve of up to 45%** for longer useful oil life to help reduce operating costs. LEARN MORE AT CASTROL.COM/AEMP

IT’S MORE THAN JUST OIL. IT’S LIQUID ENGINEERING® .