Which professional associations or organizations would you recommend to women who are starting out in the AEC industry? There are so many programs that all women in the AEC industry should join. Personal associations or organizations events that I’ve been to and recommend include: CMAA: Construction Management Association of America; ASCE: American Society of Civil Engineers; WBC: Women Builders Council; PWC: Professional Women in Construction; Bonus: WAI- Women in Aviation is an organization that I personally attended a conference for. The conference helped develop my understanding of the aviation industry career fields and interest. I’ve been in the construction aviation market for a couple of years and it was an eye-opening experience for me to see how my “end user or clients” are adapting in their industry. 

How can AEC companies recruit more women? Hear me out, high school outreach programs. In high school I thought I wanted to be an architect because there was a drafting class I decided to take when I was 13 years old. In that class we designed and built model homes and buildings. This led me to decide to pursue an engineering degree in college. 

I don’t think the different roles within our industry are explained properly by their teachers or guidance counselors. As an industry we need to put ourselves out there and let the students know that it is a great career for both men and women and the opportunities and paths are much more then construction boots on a jobsite.