“Although women make up almost 50% of the general workforce, they are only 9% of the construction workforce and only 3% of the 9% hold professional positions,” says Peggy Newquist, one of the founders of the Purdue CEM Women in Construction (WinC) program.

Newquist is a 1986 alumna of Purdue Construction Engineering and Management, current co-chair of CEM’s Industrial Advisory Board, and advocate for women’s equality and success in the construction industry. In the summer of 2013, she helped launch the first summer WinC mentoring program with fellow alumnae Lindsay Gray and Anne Bigane Wilson.

The program, which has proven successful since its inception, pairs CEM alumnae with female students preparing to experience their first internship. The idea is that students entering the construction workforce at the end of their freshman year are provided with a point of contact and mentor to help them get acclimated to the industry and to provide them with insight and encouragement.

Annie Gassner, a senior in CEM, says the WinC program has helped her realize the importance of mentorship and has given her more confidence in her internships. When feeling frustrated last summer because she felt her supervisor continually underestimated her ability to perform tasks, especially on the construction site, Gassner turned to her WinC mentor, Sarah Paulsen. "I felt as though one of the male interns was getting more responsibilities than I was," says Gassner. "I brought up my concerns with Sarah, and she gave me advice on how to approach the topic with my supervisor and how to voice that I wanted to be given more responsibilities. It's great to have a mentor who's been in the same shoes as me, who I can turn to when I'm facing challenges at work."

“The industry is missing out on an enormous talent pool if they are not able to attract and retain professional women,” Newquist says. “We [in the WinC program] want to make sure our women students have the support they need to not just survive but to thrive in the construction industry.”

The program, now in its fourth year, consists of a core leadership team of Newquist, alumna Beth de la Pena Ritzert, and CEM Undergraduate Placement Coordinator Bonnie Sondgeroth. Together, they meet with interested female students and pair them with mentors living across the country. Many students’ internships are located near their mentor, enabling them to meet up at least once throughout the summer in addition to interacting through phone, email, or Skype.

Last summer, 24 students paired up with mentors across the country. “Ideally, we would like to have all our women choose to have a mentor each summer and then become mentors as they graduate,” says Newquist. “I would encourage all students to seek mentors. I’ve chosen to focus on women because I know it would have made an enormous impact on me if I had someone to talk to during my internship days. Despite the strides we have made, women are still grossly underrepresented in the industry.”

She remembers transitioning from her student days to professional work and seeking mentors throughout each phase of her career. “Professor Donn Hancher was an amazing advocate for the women in my class and always ready with advice and counsel,” she says. “Later in my career, I had a boss who truly showed me the meaning of ‘lift as you climb’ when she promoted me to an officer position. She was a strong advocate for women and demonstrated it daily. I tried to follow her example as my career progressed.”

Students are already paired with mentors for the upcoming summer, and many mentees have chosen to continue with the program into their second and third internships. Mentees are required to update their resumes, create or update their LinkedIn profiles, explore resources on leanin.org, attend at least one industry event with their firm or mentor, and interview at least five people at their company with WinC-supplied questions to get them engaged in the full body of work that is done at a construction firm. WinC will continue to educate students on the value of establishing mentor relationships early in students’ careers and that maintaining relationships and building a professional network is ongoing work.

If you are a student or alumna of the CEM program and would like to get involved with WinC, please contact Bonnie Sondgeroth at bonniek@purdue.edu or (765)494-2243.