For Brown, NAWIC’s opportunity reaches beyond its membership. It can help influence the direction of construction itself by ensuring women’s intellect, experience and skill are fully represented in the industry’s future. “There is nothing that’s too hard for a woman in construction,” she says. “With our allies, with our industry, we should harness, we could, and we need to harness that grit to be able to improve our society, improve our infrastructure, improve our community. And what do we do? We build America.”
“Building community is one of the core tenets of what NAWIC is about,” she says. “You have to have people that you trust, that you can go to when you’re facing challenges, who can assist you in putting those things into perspective.”
Inside that community, mentorship moves in both directions.
“At any one point in time, we are always both” mentor and mentee.
Her philosophy becomes especially powerful when she speaks to women considering leadership. “Nobody’s ever prepared for leadership because what’s thrown at you is often messy,” Brown says. “It can be unfair, much like life is.” Yet leadership offers something she describes in a word rarely associated with responsibility. “What is absolutely intoxicating is the opportunity to influence and make things better.” The impact of that influence, she says, can reach people “who may never know your name, who may never understand what it took for you to be able to stand on a stage and be present. Yet their lives are improved. Their experiences and their opportunities are expanded.”
She is equally unwilling to confuse movement with meaningful progress.
“Tremendous progress has not been made,” Brown says. “We’re patting ourselves on the back for small percentages of inclusion, and that’s not good enough.” “Have we done a good job? Nope. Are we getting better at it? I believe we are. Do we have a tremendous amount of work still to do? Absolutely. But is it critical? Without a doubt.” NAWIC addresses that work through education, advocacy, professional development, mentorship and community. Brown believes those relationships matter because construction can be demanding, unpredictable and isolating without people who understand the pressures.
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BUILDING THE FUTURE WOMEN
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