Women in Construction Week is March 6-12

The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) will celebrate Women in Construction (WIC) Week March 6-12, 2011. NAWIC’s mission is to enhance the success of women in the construction industry.

“NAWIC is proud to be the association for all women in the construction industry,” says Debra M. Gregoire, president of NAWIC. “We allow our members to achieve their potential by giving them quality programs and resources to continue to enhance their success both personally and professionally. Join us as we celebrate Women in Construction Week.”

The focus of WIC Week is to highlight women as a visible component of the construction industry. It is also a time for local chapters to give back to their communities. WIC Week provides an occasion for NAWIC’s thousands of members across the country to raise awareness of the opportunities available for women in the construction industry and to emphasize the growing role of women in the industry.

“Today, although there are approximately 1million women in the construction industry, this is only 10 percent of those employed in the industry,” says Gregoire. “WIC Week is a way to show those within and outside of the industry how vital women are to construction.”

NAWIC chapters across the nation will celebrate WIC Week with a wide variety of activities. Community service projects, jobsite tours, membership drives, children’s activities, hands-on workshops, fundraisers, school programs and Girl Scout events are some of the ways local chapters will observe WIC Week. For example, NAWIC’s Baltimore, Md. chapter will host a Dollhouse Build, resulting in the donation of these dollhouses to Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital. Also, the San Francisco, Calif. chapter will host a Construction Women’s Forum addressing topics of interest, such as networking, negotiation and promoting women in construction. Local chapters are also appealing to their local, state and national representatives to issue official WIC Week proclamations.

Founded in Fort Worth, Texas in 1955, NAWIC is an international association serving more than 150 chapters in the United States. NAWIC also has affiliates in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom. To learn more about NAWIC, visit www.nawic.org. For more information, please contact Executive Vice President Dede Hughes or Communications Director Autumn Daughetee at (800) 552-3506.