Women in Construction

According to a recent article in the Wichita Eagle,  10% of the jobs in the construction industry are held by women. However, 8 out of 10 work in office or sales positions, not in the field. What if your dream is to be on the job site wielding a jackhammer, welder, or set of blue prints? Is your gender stacked against you? Today is the start of Women in Construction Week and Bev Sauerwein, past president of the Wichita Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction, gave a glimpse into the organization.

Who are the members of women in construction? It is kind of designed it to be geared for the tradeswoman. However, in Wichita, we don't have an abundance of tradeswomen. There are a lot of company officers, company owners...... We're very inclusive, with engineers and architects as well. Anyone involved in the construction industry is where we pool our membership from.

 What is the purpose? To enhance the success of women in construction. We offer some training -- online classes, self study programs... We are very involved  with construction education, personally for our members and also getting the word out to the public.

If you are considering a career in construction, or are currently in the field, I encourage you to explore this organization for information, as well as support.