empowHER Wisconsin event focuses on mentorship and allies

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One thing that helped project manager Kate Olson get to where she is today was mentors who served as a safe place to share ideas and give her the confidence to try new things.

“They’re a safe place to vet ideas and help push you in the right direction with feedback. That safety net gave me confidence to try new things, and understanding people were there to help and provide guidance,” Olson said.

This was one of the pieces of career advice shared by Olson and four other panelists on Thursday at the third annual Connecting to Build conference hosted by empowHER at the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters in Pewaukee. The sold-out event focused on mentorship, self-advocacy and allies for Women in Construction Week.

Speaking on the panel were Olson, with Boldt; Arianna Jackson, a journey worker painter with Thomas A. Mason; Tiffany May, vice president of preconstruction and principal at Berghammer; Sam Moseler, an operator apprentice with Cornerstone One; and Ann Neshek, vice president of Arrow-Crete Construction.

Panelists answered questions from the audience and discussed topics such as work-life balance, overcoming challenges and finding allies in the field.

They spoke in front of around 200 women and men in different roles, including trades workers, project managers, estimators and company owners.

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Panel says women in construction should seek mentorship and be self-advocates

Uplifting women in construction was important because it was hard for women to be their authentic selves when fitting into a new culture, said May, who said she’s been involved in almost every leg of construction.

“It’s important we lift each other up and set that example, so we bring our authentic selves to work every day, then work gets the best of us and all the great things we bring to work,” May said. “And the more people do that, the more we create that space for people to be their authentic selves.”

May said mentors were just part of a three-person support system – having a coach, mentor and a sponsor were important as well. Mentors get a lot out of the help they give as well, she added.

Not only did the panel agree on mentors being important, but they talked about women being advocates for themselves in the workplace, as well.

“Self-advocacy at work helps gain opportunities and resources that serve you and the future that you want,” Jackson said. “I’ve done lots of cool jobs just by letting people know that I’m in the trades.”

Panelists agreed that self-advocacy not only helps build self-confidence, but it opens new doors for their careers.

“Keep track of the good stuff you’ve done,” Olson said. “When you go into conversations about moving forward in your career, you’ll feel prepared and confident pushing things forward.”

Initiative was also key, according to Moseler. “If you see problems, take ownership of them and try to solve them, even if they’re not exactly in your lane,” she said, adding leadership notices employees who try to improve their work.

Neshek said she dealt with the stresses of long-term contracts but learned to pace her work, using an anecdote about the Zoo Interchange project, which wrapped up late last year. Her “aha” moment in construction was seeing those projects get done, even if it took years.

“When we first got our contract, we said, ‘Oh boy, this is huge. How are we going to get all this done?’” Neshek said. “You just take it a day at a time. All of a sudden there’s a ribbon cutting, and it’s done.”

empowHER will offer allyship awards going forward

After the panel, empowHER announced it will add an award for allies to women in construction going forward.

The Bob Michaels Allyship Award will be awarded to those who help foster diversity, combat bias and create inclusive workplaces for women, officials said.

Michaels was a 30-year industry veteran and worked as a carpenter foreman with Mortenson for 10 years; he died in 2023.

“We’ve talked about mentorship here, but allyship is really important,” said Roberta Oldenburg, director of business development at Findorff. “Who is in the room when you’re not in the room? Who is that voice? … Those are allies.”

Promoting allies will help address retention in the industry, as the architecture, engineering and construction industries recruited many women, but they wouldn’t stay for long, Oldenburg said. In her more than 20 years in construction, Oldenburg said she hadn’t seen another woman for the first four years on the job.

Oldenburg awarded an allyship challenge coin to Michaels’ wife, Margaret, during Thursday’s event.

EmpowHER officials said they were looking for nominations and added that more information about the award will be released in the future.