Tag: <span>National Women in Roofing</span>

Tag: National Women in Roofing

RT3 member & NRP VP of Finance appointed to National Women in Roofing Board of Directors

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DALLAS – April 6, 2021 – National Roofing Partners (NRP), the facilities performance company delivering unparalleled service nationwide, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Kyrah Coker, VP of Finance, to Board of Directors with National Women in Roofing (NWiR).

The Board of Directors is made up of women from all sectors of the roofing industry who govern the association and are committed to the advancement of the organization. As Vice Chair of Mentorship, Coker is focused on developing mentorship programs which empower women in the roofing industry through a mentor/mentee relationship.

“I am honored to be selected as Vice Chair of Mentorship with National Women in Roofing,” states Coker. “This mentorship program develops avenues to bring women together to share thoughts, best practices and coaching opportunities for career growth. Not only am I committed to women in roofing, but I’m backed by a company fully committed as well.”

Coker joined NWiR three years ago, when she joined the NRP team as Vice President of Finance. She also serves on the local board for community outreach with NWiR.

NRP is a founding sponsor of NWiR, and a 2021 Platinum Sponsor.

About National Women in Roofing
National Women in Roofing (NWiR) is a volunteer-based organization that supports and advances the careers of women roofing professionals—providing networking, mentoring, education and recruitment opportunities from the rooftop to the boardroom, for the young professional at the start of her career to the seasoned manager in the executive suite. Learn more at NationalWomeninRoofing.org.

About National Roofing Partners
National Roofing Partners (NRP) delivers single-source client solutions on a national basis. Utilizing its network of more than 200 service centers throughout the U.S., NRP maintains and extends the life of customers’ facility assets, including roofs, building envelopes and pavement. NRP also provides related services to the solar and telecom industries which rely on facility performance to support their infrastructure. Learn more at NationalRoofingPartners.com.

RT3 Members to attend and participate in Diversity & Inclusion Forum

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Having a strong record of diversity, equity, and inclusivity is critical to attract top talent, so make plans now to attend the inaugural Diversity + Inclusion Forum on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park.

Brought to you by the National Roofing Contractors Association, National Women in Roofing and the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, the Diversity + Inclusion Forum 2020 will help you identify ways to engage underrepresented groups, develop resources to increase your cultural competency, and educate you on why supporting diversity and fostering a culture of inclusion is a business imperative to strengthen your workforce.

During the event, dynamic industry leaders and stakeholders will discuss sustainable strategies for advancing diversity and inclusion and share best practices on how to effectively lead in a diverse and inclusive culture. Throughout the day, you also will have the opportunity to meet and network with fellow roofing and industry professionals from across the U.S. who also are striving to achieve inclusive, culturally diverse and competent workforces.

9:30 a.m. -Registration/Networking Coffee

10 a.m. -Welcome and Overview of Day

  • National Roofing Contractors Association (Reid Ribble)
  • National Women in Roofing (Jennifer Stone)
  • California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce (Julian Canete)

10:30 a.m. – Why Inclusion and Diversity are Essential to Foster High Performing Teams

High-performance teams that advocate for diversity and inclusive behaviors and include a diversity of age, gender, race and ethnicity, or geographic and national culture, allows the company to better serve its consumers. In addition to a mixture of age, gender, and cultural backgrounds, “cognitive” diversity, which is mixing people together with different thinking styles, habits and perspectives, often allows teams to achieve better outcomes and become much more multidisciplinary. Learn how collaboration becomes a tool to access your company’s ‘why’ in more distinctive and boundless ways, ultimately aligning you both internally and externally with your customers.

Presenter: Leah Maguire, Vice President of Inclusion and Diversity, Owens Corning, Toledo, Ohio

11 a.m. – Why Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Matter to Your Business’ Bottom Line

Diverse and inclusive workplaces ultimately impact the bottom line in numerous ways. Diversity supports business performance by helping companies generate unique ideas that can improve the quality of decision making. And, individual identities shape how people experience, learn, and perceive the world, which is then reflected in the different perspectives and skillsets they bring. Our speaker will share how this new source of insight and talent sparks creativity and leads to the formation of new ideas, which ultimately helps businesses progress.

Presenter: Julian Francis, President/CEO, Beacon Building Products, Herndon, Va.

11:30 a.m. – Eliminating Barriers: Building Diverse and Inclusive Organizations

In today’s extremely competitive yet socially conscious business environment, one of the best ways to sustain an innovative organization is to create an inclusive and diverse organization. When a company creates a culture that celebrates diversity and inclusion, they are often faced with barriers within and outside their organization. This session will discuss what some of those barriers can be, how to overcome them, and how to ensure that efforts are maximized.

Presenter: Julian Canete, CEO, California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, Sacramento, CA

Noon – Luncheon/Keynote Speaker(s), Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) (invited)

1 p.m. – Leading in a Diverse and Inclusive Culture – Industry Panel

Leading in a diverse and inclusive culture gives you deeper insights into yourself, your team, and the benefits of inclusion at all levels in your organization. Panelists will share best practices, as well as insights and strategies to develop competencies and get tools to create an environment fueled by engagement and innovation.

Panelists:

Mardee Billingsley, Executive Vice President, Tremco Roofing & Building Maintenance, Beachwood, Ohio

Leo Ibarra, Vice President, Blue’s Roofing Co., Milpitas, Calif.

Sherri Miles, President, Miles Roofing Inc., Chesapeake, Va.

James Thomas, President/CEO, Topps Products, Canton, Miss.

Elizabeth Walters, Marketing & Business Operations Manager, Derbigum Americas Inc., Kansas City, Mo.

Heidi Ellsworth (moderator), President, HJE Consulting, Camp Sherman, Ore.

2 p.m. -Takeaways/Networking Mixer

2:30 p.m. -Register/Check-in—Roofing Day in D.C. 2020

3 p.m. – Opening Program—Roofing Day in D.C. 2020

Get more information or register online here.

The best resources for women in roofing

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By Megan Brehm, AccuLynx.

Over the past several years, the roofing industry has seen an increased number of women getting involved in the trade. From field work to running their own roofing businesses, women are proving they can do it all in the exterior contracting world. While women only make up roughly nine percent of the construction industry, there are loads of resources out there to help support and promote growth.

Here are some of the best resources for women in the roofing industry.

National Women in Roofing

With over 1,200 members, the National Women in Roofing organization—or NWIR—was created to help support and advance careers for women in the roofing world. They provide everything from mentors to seminars to recruitment resources.

This is a great opportunity to help connect female roofers to other women who have created names for themselves in the industry. The NWIR empowers women with the right training and skills to help drive the drive diversity and professionalism in roofing.

National Association for Women in Construction

Founded in 1953, the National Association for Women in Construction (NAWIC) is a network for women in construction and exterior contracting industries.

With chapters all across the continental United States and over 4,500 members, the NAWIC gives women in construction and other exterior contracting trades, such as roofing, resources to get the job done and advance their careers. They provide professional opportunities such as mentoring, the latest industry news and community outreach projects. There are also educational resources including leadership development and career path plotting assistance.

Canadian Association for Women in Construction

Canada has its own organization for women roofers, as well. Similar to the NAWIC, the Canadian Association for Women in Construction is designed to provide considerable resources to women in a variety of exterior contracting trades—including roofing.

The CAWIC gives women in the Canadian construction industry access to professional and educational resources, much like the NAWIC. For everything from new ways to enhance their careers to learning what is new in their industry, the CAWIC has created a way to connect female roofers throughout Canada.

These resources are perfect for connecting female roofers to a larger community. AccuLynx is proud to be a part of that community! As a provider to some of the best roofing businesses, including women-owned roofing companies, we make it easy to manage everything needed on a daily basis.

Get more industry news like this in your inbox each week when you sign up for the Smart Brief e-newsletter.

Source: AccuLynx. 

How women are changing the roofing industry

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Women currently make up nine percent of the construction industry, which is a small percentage when compared with other industries. Construction has always been a male-dominated field. Even fewer women work in the roofing industry specifically; statistics from 2014 reveal that only 0.5 percent of U.S. roofers are female.

However, an increasing number of women are stepping up to the plate and female workers and leaders are making a difference in the industry.

Filling the Labor Void

The construction industry is facing a labor void for a variety of reasons. Prior to 2006, there was a surplus of workers, but the recession eliminated millions of construction jobs. Though our nation and industry have recovered, the general desire to work in construction seems to have diminished. This combined with the baby boomers’ retirement has created a labor void.

Women are an important part of filling this labor void, especially in roofing. Many women can withstand the physical demands of the job as well as men. Others are making waves in business or leadership positions.

The labor void is a serious issue facing the roofing industry. Maintaining an open mind when it comes to hiring more women will help us gain qualified workers and a fresh perspective.

Relating to Female Clients

Unfortunately, one of the stereotypes surrounding the construction industry (and other male-dominated industries such as auto mechanics) is that female customers can get scammed or overcharged because they have little knowledge of the traditionally male industry.

Having female representation in your company can help set prospective female clients at ease. According to Forbes, women now represent 70 to 80 percent of all consumer purchasing power. In some instances, women respond better to female representation when it comes to a new roof or roof repair. It can add a greater relatability factor and help alleviate the fear of being overcharged.

National Women in Roofing

Since it can be hard to get established in such a traditionally male field, National Women in Roofing (NWIR) was established to help support and advance the careers of female roofing professionals.

The nonprofit organization’s four main goals are:

  • Recruiting
  • Networking
  • Education
  • Mentoring

NWIR knows how much women can continue to benefit the roofing industry. It also recognizes how much intentionality and support is needed in this transition. NWIR welcomes both female roofing professionals and male roofing professionals who support the cause.

Note: This article first appeared on Cotney Construction Law’s blog and can be viewed here.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.

Five Strategies for Making Construction Companies Better for Women

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BuiltWorlds recently facilitated a Future Workforce Forum meeting exploring the challenges faced by women in construction. The forum participants heard presentations about the personal experiences of women in the industry, while also engaging in a lively discussion about ways companies should respond to the hurdles that women face. The group came up with five concrete solutions for companies to make themselves welcoming to women:

  1. Qualify female colleagues

Numerous studies, such as this one from the American Association of University Women, have shown that women are often viewed as less competent than their male counterparts. One small way to address this issue is to highlight your female colleagues qualifications when you introduce them.

For example, Jamie Redmond, the Director of Operations at Redmond Construction, related that when she’s in a business meeting, one of her peers informs everyone, “this is Jamie, she leads our operations; she’s a great resource for you.”

  1. Amplify women’s ideas

Men often take women’s ideas and claim them as their own (see Dr. Arin Reeves’ study, “Mansplaining, Manterrupting & Bropropriating.”) In order to combat this issue, Redmond emphasized the importance of repeating a woman’s idea and crediting her for the idea ideas. It’s as simple as saying, “as Jamie pointed out, we should really pay more attention to this marketing campaign.”

  1. Ladies — make yourself a seat at the table.

According to the Harvard Business Review, the way women’s colleagues treat them is almost entirely due to bias and has no correlation with women’s actions. However, in hostile environments, women often have no recourse but to develop a thick skin and hold their ground.

Cathy Osborne, the VP of HR at Leopardo admitted that when she started at the company, the male leaders had a difficult time listening to her. “We had cultural issues because they were not used to having women in a leadership role,” Osborne said. “They’d say, ‘Cathy you don’t know construction.’ I’d say, ‘It’s not about construction. It’s about human capital…’ I have a seat at the table and I’m a business partner.”

  1. Put women in positions of power

Women in power empower other women. For example, as a smart, driven woman, Osborne recognizes the importance of recruiting and retaining female employees. Since she started at Leopardo, the company has “been seeing more strong project engineers, project managers, on the female side.” Osborne also makes sure that male superintendents support her project engineers. In large part due to Osborne’s work, Leopardo is now 27 percent female, not including the trades.

Lauren Enders, a Project Manager at Vortex Flooring, observed that having women run the show benefits everyone. “We have our first female partner,” she said. “She’s really good at maintaining a positive environment for our team… the women in our office make shit happen.” This, of course, means that women in power also empower the men around them.

  1. Make work-life balance a company priority

Women with children often hesitate to take on leadership roles in the field because of the large time commitment demands associated with supervisory positions. Roseanna Bloxham, a senior geo-environmental engineer at environmental consultancy RSK, observed in this article, “it’s really difficult for working mothers to be on site by 8 am, because most childcare facilities are not open at 6am, when they would need to drop off their children. Therefore, after having children female engineers are still tending to go back into desk roles.”

The industry cannot afford to deprive talented women from field leadership opportunities. If you want to attract young parents of all genders into field leadership, you need to implement family friendly policies. Try developing generous paid maternity and paternity leave policies. Look into flexible working options — in the digital age, a lot of office work can be completed at home. Hire assistants for your supervisors who can take on their administrative tasks. You will attract and retain more skilled employees with these policies.

With a precipitous decline in skilled labor, the construction industry cannot afford to alienate 50 percent of the workforce. By implementing these five strategies, you will make your company more competitive and profitable.

Note: This article first appeared on BuiltWorlds’ website and can be viewed here.