On March 22, Lenore Janis, president of Professional Women in Construction (PWC), was honored by the Greater N.Y. Chamber of Commerce at the organization's annual celebration of Women's History Month at the Hard Rock Café. Janis was introduced by Dina Bakst, co-founder and co-president of A Better Balance, a legal center, as "an incredible woman and an inspiration to all." Bakst noted too that "no one has done more to help women in construction than Lenore Janis." Chamber CEO Mark Jaffe presented Janis with an award that commended her for "her role in helping to break the glass ceiling in the construction trades." Janis noted that PWC broke not only the glass ceiling of hierarchy that had stifled women's progress, but also the "concrete ceiling" in construction. She recalled a groundbreaking time when then governor Mario Cuomo, father of the current governor Andrew Cuomo, heeded the advocacy efforts of PWC and other groups and enacted legislation mandating the participation of women and minority owned business enterprises (W/MBEs) in government contracts. Saying that New York must continue to be the trailblazer for women, particularly in nontraditional fields, she added "It is time to restore New York as the equality capital of the nation." Jaffe urged all to support the Women's Equality Coalition and the Women's Equality Act currently proposed by Gov. Cuomo saying "When women are treated fairly businesses do better." For more information on PWC contact [email protected], visit www.pwcusa.org/ny or call 212.486.7745. # # # Caption: Left to right - Susan Johnson, president, G.S.M. Construction Corp.; Mark S. Jaffe, CEO, Greater NY Chamber of Commerce; Lenore Janis, president, PWC. Photo credit: Michelle Kawka. .