Can she build it? Yes, she can!

When you consider that for every nine men employed in the Newfoundland and Labrador construction industry there is one woman, it’s hard to believe how far women have come in this industry and easy to see how much room there is to grow.

There was a time, just a generation or two ago, when a woman would be laughed at—by men and women—for wanting a career in construction. Thankfully, decades of girls-in-STEM advocacy, higher education and progressive attitudes towards women and gender-diverse individuals have opened doors and broadened opportunities in, and for, the construction industry.

Tonya Knopp, P.Eng., is the Manager of Facility Engineering with the City of St. John’s—the first woman to hold that position. She was recently assigned a new role for the next four years, as Project Director/Senior Project Manager for a major expansion of the city’s wastewater management facility. Getting here involved a great deal of higher education (she’s currently completing a PhD in Civil Engineering), hard work, networking—and a thick skin.

“From my (engineering) class that had 15 women in it, only three of us remain working in the industry today. So that tells you a little bit about how women were perceived and how unwelcoming the construction environment was 20-plus years ago,” Knopp said, adding that she persevered and succeeded because she refused to be intimidated. “I wasn’t going to be deterred by anyone, man or woman.”

“Those of us who have been in the industry a long time, like myself, have seen the industry transition a lot in the last 20 years. But there’s still a lot of room for improvement to be done.”

–Tonya Knopp, P. Eng., Manager of Facility Engineering, City of St. John’s

It took a lot of gumption in the early years, as a young woman, to assert herself in the field. “Specifically in the shipbuilding sector or in oil refineries,” she recalled, “I would look around and I would always be the only female there. I’ve had a lot of rude things said to me, as I’m sure you can imagine, but I never let that stop me. I was very, very quiet when I first graduated from school. It took me a while to find my voice. But when I did, I used it effectively and respectfully, and I just demanded the people I worked with on sites treat me the same way that they would treat their mother.”

Lindsay Hynes, Sales Manager of Landscape and Masonry Division for Concrete Products, has been working in male-dominated environments since she was a teenager. “When I worked at Power Vac, I was 19 years old, the only woman with 150 men,” she said. There were times when her expertise was questioned and she felt intimidated on the job. Over the years, she said she developed a lot of empathy for men in an industry that was quickly changing around them. She acknowledged that hers is probably an unpopular opinion, explaining: “I find that you have to understand the construction industry had been male-dominated for so long. We’re (women) a new element and they need to be given a chance to accept that because, you know, it is different. I find, as a woman going into it, you have to be accepting of their lifestyles as well.”

 

Indeed, from talking to female construction professionals for this story, it is clear not “all men” have an issue working with women. In fact, some said that for all those men who try to hold women, there are just as many who celebrate and support them as allies, colleagues and mentors.

One such mentor connected Tzu-Hao Hsu with a construction-adjacent job at United Rentals, a position she would never have considered otherwise. “I came out of school with my business degree and figured I was going to go to the big fancy corporate building in the sky, so to speak,” she said. “He thought my attitude and aptitude would be a good fit for the industry, so he introduced me. I haven’t left since.” Beginning 13 years ago as an inside sales representative, Hsu learned everything she could about the business, from safety to logistics of dispatch, to its overall management, and worked her way up to Operations Supervisor.

While she didn’t start out with a dream of a career in construction, she says she can’t imagine where she’d be now without it. The industry, while it can be seasonal for some, is year-round for her. There will always be things to build, repair and maintain, meaning her employment is pretty stable, and the pay is very good. Beyond that, maybe larger than that, is how rewarding it is, partly because the work is so visible. Hsu says that some days she’ll be driving around the metro area with her kids in the car and they’ll excitedly point out their mother’s company’s job sites. “There’s a real sense of pride that comes from knowing the things I do have literally made physical landmarks—changed the skyline of the city and the community I live in,” she said.

“I love when I drive around and I see women on the rock trucks, and women on the big equipment and I think it’s awesome. If I had my time back – it was never something that was an option or even talked about for me when I graduated high school, for that type of work, trades or any of that. Now I’m like, I wish that was something that had been available to me back then because I think that would be so cool. I would love to drive a rock truck or a dump truck—or a concrete truck!”

—Lindsay Hynes, Sales Manager, Concrete Products

“Rewarding” was a common adjective among these interviewees, each time said with sincerity and appreciation. Hsu credited it for keeping her engaged in her job. Tonya Knopp recalled how, after switching her education path from medicine to civil engineering, she knew she’d found her calling. “I was really interested in (engineering and architecture), and I thought if I can be part of cool infrastructure projects, those would be cool things that I’m leaving in the community, things I’ll reflect on my whole career and look back and say, ‘I was a part of that project, and that project contributed to the community in XYZ way.’ I find that very rewarding,” she said.

The family of Valerie Penney, Senior Project Manager with rcs Construction, sees her work whenever they shop at the mall or the grocery store. In her first few years with the company, she oversaw the $100 million-plus renovation and expansion of the Avalon Mall in St. John’s. And while she considers that a highlight of her career so far, her current passion is grocery store renovations. She revels in the added challenge of these “live renos,” where the building under construction is also open for business and crews work around the clock. It ticks all the boxes for Penney, a civil engineer who was drawn to project management because no two days are the same. “At the end of a project you were able to see what you’ve done and take some pride and ownership of it,” she said.

Penney, who was recently named Chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Association (NLCA), has also been serving as Chair of the NLCA’s Women in Construction Forum. Launched four years ago under the direction of NLCA President/COO Rhonda Neary, the forum provides a safe space for women in the industry to network, learn from each other and share their experiences. Volunteering with Penney on the board of the NLCA are Knopp (Third Vice-Chair) and Hynes (Manufacturers, Suppliers & Services Section Chair). Until recently, Hsu was the Standard Practices Section Chair. They all credited the NLCA and the women-specific events with enriching their careers.

By participating in those (workshops), and being in board meetings, where everybody around the table is super accommodating and super friendly, it just gives you a place where you can relax. It’s not stressful, you can be yourself. The training sessions through Women in Construction really gave me a whole level of confidence going into these meetings,” said Hynes.

Said Penney, “When I started this (chairing Women in Construction), it was a huge space and platform for me. The amount of growth I got from that, being in front of people, stepping on a stage, doing those things has been immeasurable.”

“Women don’t keep people out of the table; they extend the table, they bring more chairs. We aren’t the gatekeepers; sometimes we’re the doorstoppers, keeping the door open so others can follow us.”

—Tzu-Hao Hsu, Operations Manager, United Rentals

Knopp, who is heavily involved with the WIC Forum, also volunteers in the community with a long list of women-centred causes including WISENL, Tequity+, PEGNL and YWCA. It’s very important to her, “given where I am and what stage I am in my career, to give back to my community and, more importantly, to provide supports for women who want to enter STEM, for women who want to enter the trades. We need them. We need their voices around the table. I want to see them when I’m on construction sites. I want them to have safe places to work, and I want them to be able to share their voice.”

Reflecting on her first WIC Forum experience, Hsu said, “It was one of the first times where I went into an industry event associated with the construction association and saw predominantly women vs men.” Networking woman-to-woman was less intimidating and she was able to make solid contacts.

About two years ago, Hsu was inspired to initiate regular meetups for women in construction. It was during a focus group, she recalled, when an established, widely respected professional woman shared how she is still sometimes disrespected on the job. “I was flabbergasted,” Hsu said, both to know that she wasn’t alone and also to discover that it could happen to someone of this woman’s calibre. What followed was the launch of the Women’s Coffee Circles, hosted by Hsu, where women drop in and network for an hour, learn from a guest speaker and share experiences and resources.

The most recent Coffee Circle provided Hsu’s proudest moment, she said. The guest speaker shared her personal stories of harassment, then asked those in the room if they’d had similar experiences. Several raised their hands and one shared information on how they dealt with it. “I had such a moment of pride and joy,” said Hsu. “We talked about this being a safe space for such a long time, but this is concrete proof of engagement that we trust each other enough in this space to come out with these personal and, at times, very traumatic stories. But it’s now a place where we can have these conversations because we know that we’re surrounded by our sisters, our compatriots, and it’s OK to come out and talk about it.”

The WIC Forum has been steadily growing every year. Even the number of male attendees has grown from one, an NLCA board member, to almost 10 per cent of the total at last fall’s event, according to Hynes. “They’re embracing it and they’re being allies for us.”

The construction industry is going to need all the allies it can get in the coming years. Hundreds of thousands of workers are due to retire across Canada this decade, and the push is on to attract and promote all genders. Not only is there a labour shortage, but there’s also a boom on the horizon in residential and non-residential construction as well as megaprojects. Opportunities for women to enter and advance lucrative careers in this industry have never been bigger—and there’s plenty of evidence that the industry would be far better off for having them.

“It really isn’t just about the hard hats and boots. Although those roles are very important, there’s many other sides to the construction industry. There are careers in engineering, project management, estimating, safety, technology, sustainability, finance and skilled trades.”

—Valerie Penney, Senior Project Manager, rcs Construction

“What I’ve seen from my own experience is that diverse teams help make better decisions. I think women often bring a different communication style, collaborative approaches and perspectives that are a little bit different,” said Penney. “I think in that team environment of what a construction project would be, I think having a woman involved is certainly going to help diversify those balanced teams, foster stronger culture and communication. It isn’t just a moral imperative, I think it improves performance, retention and innovation.”

Said Hynes: “We tend to be better multitaskers because we have no choice but to be multitaskers when you have a home life and a work life and everything else. I don’t want to say we work harder, but in a way we have to work harder to prove ourselves, so we do work harder.”

“Maybe it’s because we know coming in that we have to put in a bit more effort in some spaces,” added Hsu. “I find that women, once they’re locked in and remain locked in and are rewarded for their efforts, there are very few women I know who are not high achievers in this business. If they’re rewarded appropriately for their efforts and recognized, they’re committed, they’re passionate, they’re strong players for their teams and they are absolute go-getters.”

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