Monday February 27, 2023 | VIEW ROYAL, BC [Updated 3 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
About 80 women who make their living in the construction industry took an evening to explore their worklife experiences.
Held in the large open meeting space at the recently-opened Craigflower Community Centre in View Royal on Wednesday evening, February 22, a Women in Construction (WIC) power-panel of four women chatted their way through a series of questions from a fellow-worker moderator.
The event was billed as “Moving On Up”. Challenges about women working their way up the ladder were explored through personal anecdotes and TED-talk style delivery of motivational insights about functioning in what still appears to be a male-dominated industry.
They figuratively danced their way through the ups and downs of their experiences in the Vancouver Island construction industry, with the audience seated in rows on the ‘sprung floor’ that the facility owners are very proud of and which impressed the construction folks in the room.
Women at the microphone:
Seated across the podium area, the four featured speakers each had their own insights and tips as women working in the construction industry. This was not so much about skilled trades but more so the project management and operations support side of the industry.
The panelists were Erin Flanagan (Falcon Heights Contracting), Stephanie Gunning (AME Consulting Group), Kathy Parkinson (RavenStone Construction), and Sara Peddle (Western Design & Build). Collectively a group of independent thinkers who apply their energy to doing things well for themselves, their coworkers and their industry.
The WIC event moderator was entrepreneurial landscape designer Kate Markham-Zantvoort. And here’s some of what the panelists had to say about their day jobs:
- Erin Flanagan: Moving out of a career in biochemical science and a passion for sailing, Flanagan said she took the foundations training at Camosun College and pivoted her career into construction where she enjoys “building things and seeing more immediate results”. She appreciates having unique projects and the opportunity to always have “something cool to figure out”. She recommends having “perspective with what you do”.
- Stephanie Gunning: Applying the soft skills that she picked up in retail and the discipline she honed in banking, Gunning says she enjoys the opportunity to be the organizer for her team. She said that she likes bringing new ideas to the table and helping the team shape its goals, noting the importance of collaboration. “You spend a lot of your life working”, she points out, and advised the audience to ‘not be stuff in a box’ but to try new things.
- Kathy Parkinson: “Go with the flow, get experience, and learn along the way.” Parkinson explored growth on the job: “If you fail, pick yourself up and learn. We grow stronger through failure. If others fail, pick them up.” She repackaged failures as opportunities. Declaring women as very organized, she also encouraged women to get paid what they’re worth and be confident about their contribution to the workplace.
- Sara Peddle: She likes leading a team through the process from design through construction to project completion. Her advice to the room, that through watching people they can learn and grow and “break the barriers as women”. Communication is important: “Discuss with others how to fix things.” Opportunities show up. She recommends encouraging her female peers to “come as they are” and not have to feel they need to fit into a male standard.
Audience experience:
The 4,500-sq ft room with huge windows that appeared to billow in the pre-snowfall evening was cold to sit in for the 1.25-hour formal portion of the presentation, but the messaging was warmhearted. Every speaker got genuine bursts of applause and the evening held everyone somewhat rapt at hearing the tales and tribulations.
Women in Construction meets annually for this experience. In the audience question period one man in the industry said more men should be invited to future-such events, so they might better understand the pressures and obstacles that women face in this work sector.
One man who self-identified as Indigenous said he wished there had been similar motivational events at an earlier time in his career.
Construction industry:
Vancouver Island Construction Association (VICA) CEO Rory Kulmala was present for the evening.
The industry is 13% women with 6.4% working on-site, according to event moderator Kate Markham-Zantvoort.
There was a pre-event buffet in the lounge and beverages at the facility’s new bar. A pre-event introduction about the building came with an apology about the lack of landscaping beyond the windows, but winter generally takes care of worries about that.
The new facility:
This was the second booked event that has been held at the Craigflower Community Centre, which was built through the pandemic under the oversight of the Victoria Scottish Community Centre Society. Being a construction sector event on Wednesday evening, construction of the building by Knappett Construction was celebrated.
The first was a Robbie Burns dinner last month, held just days after the new centre’s official opening which was attended by two BC cabinet ministers who live in the region.
Victoria Highland Games Association (VHGA) President Jim Maxwell gave a verbal walk-through of the building during the pre-panel portion of the evening, highlighting the spacious 4,500 sq ft meeting room space within a 10,000 sq ft building which includes lounge area, commercial kitchen, green room, and office space.
The VHGA and the Victoria Scottish Community Centre Society are still hoping for more donations and funding to complete the building landscaping and fleshing out of the commercial kitchen equipment, as the project ran over budget during the pandemic.
===== RELATED:
Craigflower Community Centre celebrated for broad reach and collaboration (Jan 19, 2023)
Vancouver Island Construction Assoc announces 2022-2023 board (Nov 29, 2022)
VICA aims to lead economic recovery through institutional, commercial & industrial construction (Dec 3, 2021)
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Island Social Trends is a local and regional news service based in the west shore of south Vancouver Island.
This journalism service has been operating since 2008 in the west shore, under the direction of editor and publisher Mary P Brooke: first as MapleLine Magazine 2008-2010, then Sooke Voice News 2011-2013, then West Shore Voice News 2014-2020, then emerging fully online mid-2020 at islandsocialtrends.ca
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