women in construction

Wic week ’23 information, Events, Stats, Team

Women in Construction (WIC) Week is an annual celebration of the workforce diversity and inclusion in the construction and building industry. The event is held each year to recognize and increase awareness of female employees, skilled tradespeople, business owners and entrepreneurs who are contributing to this traditionally male-dominated field.

Women in construction 2023

an all time high

Previous high point for women worker's share was 13.5% in 2009

Data from The Washington Post.

wic week:

events

National Association of women in construction luncheon
3.6.23
11:30AM - 1PM
The NAWIC Grand Rapids chapter is hosting a free luncheon for all featuring keynote speaker WMCI President Jen Schottke. Jen will be presenting "Trailblazing and Belonging – The Story of the West Michigan Construction Institute and the Role of Women in Construction Today."
Event Page

Empowering Women in Construction Virtual Panel
3.7.23
1PM - 2PM
In celebration of Women in Construction week Deltek is hosting a virtual panel discussion, Empowering Women in Construction. Attendees can expect to learn:
1. Challenges women face in construction and ideas to overcome them
2. Best practices to hire and retain women in the construction industry
3. Opportunities for your company by hiring more women as builders, professionals, and tradeswomen
Register Here

American Subcontractors Association of Michigan Lunch
3.10.23
12PM - 2PM
Join ASAM for lunch and conversation centered around how local companies have made strides in supporting women in construction.
Tickets

At WMCI, recognizing the role women play in improving the quality, diversity, profitability and progress of the construction industry is hard to confine to just one week.

In fact, one could argue that WMCI is quite ahead of national employment trends with the majority of our staff being women. As we look back over the past year of progress, we’re proud to recognize their contributions:

President Jen Schottke was just named one of Grand Rapids Business Journal’s newsmaker of the year for her tireless pursuit of the WMCI mission.
Director of Education Jasmine Weston led the charge in crafting robust course catalogs from scratch – growing the programs WMCI offers into a diverse mix of craft trades, High School work based learning and professional development trainings.
From leading tours, to organizing events, to managing enrollment, there’s no doubt the institute wouldn’t be able to function smoothly without Administrative & Student Services Coordinator Jordyn Willick.
And we’re all very excited to have Marketing & Event Coordinator Merisa Smith recently join the team as she’s already proven herself to be a talented brand storyteller.

As I think about being a woman in construction, so often, the perception is it’s been hard or challenging. But it’s quite the contrary. It was the first place where I felt like I belonged!

– Jen Schottke