ROANOKE, Va. – In a male-dominated industry, more and more women are pushing through.
“The assumptions and the way you’re treated by people who have not met you yet are going to be based off of your gender,” E.C. Pace Project Manager Anna Bosco said.
Anna Bosco and Kinsey Roe are just two of the women working at E.C. Pace — a construction company in Roanoke.
They said while their company is great with women workers, they’ve faced challenges with others.
“Most of the time they give me the chance to prove myself, but sometimes you do still have to take that extra step because of your gender,” Bosco said.
Along with another woman at their company, Roe and Bosco created the first U.S. chapter of Women on Site — an organization geared towards connecting women in construction and other trade jobs.
“To be able to have people to look to for advice, and just a community where we can all gather together and really, relate on things that not a lot of women have to face in their daily life at their work,” Roe said.
Even the youngest girls can get involved in construction, and Kid’s Square in Roanoke is helping them get there, one nail at a time.
Kid’s Square has a construction play space sponsored by Branch Builds and Carter Machinery, and in honor of Women in Construction Week, they’re holding a contest.
If you take a picture of your girl playing in the space, Executive Director Felicia Branham said you’ll be entered to win one of two free memberships to the museum.
“We see just as many girls in this space as we do boys, they love it. We have our pink jackets and our pink helmets and they gravitate to those right away,” Branham said.
Roe said she’s excited for the newest generation of female construction workers.
“I’m encouraged to see more women interested and more girls interested and I hope in the future it really does change a lot,” she said.
You can find information about Women on Site here.
You can find information on the Kid’s Square contest here.