Recently I read a national article about women in the construction industry. My immediate thought was that as part of the construction industry, the onsite world is ahead of the curve on that front.
To check my assumption, I went to the COLE Publishing archives for both Pumper magazine and Onsite Installer. Both magazines have women on the cover of roughly one-third of issues.
Back in the day it was Jim Converse and Jerry Tyler we all looked up to for guidance and novel ideas. Now the industry looks to Sara Heger as our guiding professional.
My company works in 11 counties of southeast Wisconsin. Several of our onsite inspectors are women. Better yet, several of the counties have women running their inspection departments.
The national article I read is one of those articles that always ask the same questions about whether women are getting a fair chance in the construction industry. Here in Wisconsin, one of the largest commercial builders I can think of in our state is run by a woman. Residentially, we install onsite systems for some home builders that are owned and run by women.
And then there are my own personal examples. Approximately 31 years ago, a friend of mine showed up in my kitchen saying she wanted to be a soil tester. We hired her, and she became our lead soil tester, with a CDL and operating skills so she could excavate her own soil tests. She also became one of our master plumbers (restricted service). For 25 years she was our lead soil tester and designer of many of our systems.
After she retired from our company, our next soil tester was also a woman we trained, but as soon as she was licensed the grass was greener and we were back to looking for a replacement.
Six years ago one of my employees asked to speak to me and said he had someone he wanted me to meet. He said, “If you like my work ethic, she has the same one. No obligation, I just want you to meet her because I really think she could be a big help to you.”
Enter his sister Kelly. We met, she had no background in onsite but I decided to bring her on board. In a six-year span she became our lead certified soil tester, has her plumbing learner card (and other certifications), runs our pumping division and runs our repair division. When I hire people, I look them in the eye and tell them that they will have every opportunity to grow me out of my position. Kelly is the closest I’ve ever worked with at accomplishing that goal. She is part of 'Team Todd,' a two-person juggernaut to which I am uploading 37 years of onsite experience as I finally have two persons who are picking everything up not only quickly but very thoroughly. Not only is Kelly our lead soil tester, she has helped several others pass their soil test exams.
Kelly became our director of operations by year four with our company.
My wife, Peggy, is our office manager, co-owner, president of our company and has added marketing to her list of many functions that she is focusing on.
We brought on a new person who came through a referral. She is poised to take over management of our pumping and repair divisions to free up Kelly as she continues growing into other parts of our company.
My personal experience of women in our industry has been nothing short of amazing. The women I am lucky to work with are some of the most focused, intelligent, hardworking people I’ve ever worked with. It is obvious to me that based on the current trajectory of our company, my eventual replacement will indeed be a woman, as she has proved over and over again that she is the best person for the job.
From Sara Heger and her research and leadership, to the inspection departments that regulate what we do, to the co-workers that prove to me on a daily basis I’m better and more successful because of them, to my editor who makes these articles readable, women are a critical component to a successful onsite industry.
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