Tenacity. Perseverance. Opportunism. Hard work.
There is no single path to success in the real estate and construction sectors, four female panellists asserted during a recent Women in Construction Week presentation, but rather diverse skill sets and smarts aligned in the pursuit of excellence.
The March 6 event was hosted by the Young Construction Leaders committee of the Toronto Construction Association.
Caitlin Turner, director of interiors at HOK, served as moderator.
As the panellists were describing their careers paths, Turner at one point said, “I think we’re seeing a theme here, right? Team player. Accountability. Clients can trust you.”
Another trait added to a growing list by several of the commentators was the willingness to collaborate with groups of women for mutual support, thus cultivating strong relationships. It also applies to broader teambuilding across the firm.
“I think the industry is very large and yet very small,” said Turner. “So the ability to be able to network, to make those connections, have those relationships, I think is really valuable, because you get by with a little help from your friends.”
For panellist Carolina Miranda, senior project manager in design and construction at real estate development company Westbank Corp., using her networking skills demanded long hours, but she persevered because wanted to get to know the needs of a wide variety of potential clients.
She took a different training path to get where she is today and so felt the need to acquire knowledge through building relationships.
“It was a lot of late nights but it definitely helped me believe that I was going in the right direction,” said Miranda.
“I wanted to just meet all of you all the time, to meet somebody that had a little bit of history like mine.”
Four key takeaways
- A Massive Advantage. Katya Shabanova, partner at the commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, acknowledged the commercial real estate sector is “very male dominated” but she believes that can be a benefit to women in that field today.
“Over the past 12 years, I’ve found that it actually can be a massive advantage being a woman,” Shabanova said.
“More and more…our clients, our executives, are realizing that diversity of thought is very important. And our clients are starting to look different than they did 20 years ago. They want their providers to look like them and to speak like them and to think like them or think differently, be creative like them.
“When our clients are changing way faster than we are, it’s a problem.”
- Speak Your Mind. Turner learned managers and clients are looking for people who aren’t afraid to try new ideas.
“Trying new things is how you actually innovate, how you push the envelope and get to be known as a thought leader that someone wants to have on their team,” she said.
Shabanova added, “Diversity of thought…brought me to where I am today because I was not afraid to speak my mind.”
- Keep Learning. EllisDon director of design management Denise Flemming brings value to her team by paying attention to details and salting away lessons learned. It was a practice she started early in her career, working with a small firm where employees had multiple roles and she took advantage of opportunities to learn diverse best practices.
“I had to pay more attention to the details because being a woman, I had to prove myself more than a co-op student who was male that we hired who became a PM before I did,” Flemming said.
“If you’re a woman in this industry, especially in construction, you do have to work a little harder and be a bit more diligent.”
- Know Your Worth. Interior design project management specialist Lisa Dyck urged women in the field to make sure they get paid, and the way to do that is to speak up.
“There’s the saying, a closed mouth does not get fed,” said Dyck.
“You have to know your worth, what you bring to the table, and negotiate.
“We’re not used to doing that.”
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