Women build group to help peers succeed in construction

Nancy Goldman is a self-described girly girl. But she doesn’t usually wear dresses to work.

The Corona del Mar resident will wear makeup and pretty blouses and sometimes try to get away with heels, but she always keeps work boots and a hard hat in her car.

So goes a career in construction.

As a project manager at J&M Concrete Contractors in Orange, Goldman works among a sea of men.

“I’m very feminine,” said Goldman, 48. “People have a preconceived idea when they see me walking into a meeting or walking on the field, and I constantly feel like I have to prove I know what I’m doing.”

Women make up just 2.6% of workers in construction and extraction occupations across the country, according to 2013 numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In construction management, women make up 7.3%.

Goldman found the gender disparity in the industry disheartening. In January 2013, she and 14 other women founded Women in Construction Operations, an organization devoted to empowering women to pursue careers in construction. It aims to reach women working at all levels with contractors, architects, engineers, designers and others in the field.

It all started at a casual dinner among friends.

“We started talking about how I was the only female project manager in my company,” said Goldman, WiOps’ vice chairwoman. “We just started [asking] why aren’t there more women [in construction operations]? Does it start in high school? Does it start early? How can we bring more women up?”

WiOps’ founding members offered a few explanations for the lack of women — working conditions, family and work-life balance and negative preconceptions among co-workers and clients.

“They’re kind of unique challenges to women,” said founding member and secretary Kasie Bowden, 29, of Fullerton.

The group decided the solution was an organization that would offer networking and mentorship opportunities while giving members access to workshops that can develop technical skills. WiOps currently has more than 400 members.

Women can join the group’s mailing list for free by visiting its website, WomenInOperations.com.

“[WiOps has] all these women who have done it — who have been there and done that and they’re successful,” said Bowden, an area superintendent with Hensel Phelps, a construction company in Irvine.

Upcoming Event

WiOps will present a free networking event from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at J&M Concrete Contractors, 749 N. Poplar St., Orange. Participants can learn about firestop systems, power tools and concrete. For more information and to RSVP, go to WomenInOperations.com.