Females make headway in male-dominated fields

Laurie Hodges formed Jackie of All Trades in July, building on several years of work doing odd jobs around the house for friends and family.

Architect Stephanie Ireland had a knack for design since an early age.

Walton Construction’s Stephanie San Paolo finalizes contract details.

And Bobbi Box plays an important role in getting big sports events to Springfield.

These women are just a few examples of businesswomen emerging in traditionally male industries.

Handy woman

The foundation for Jackie of All Trades dates back to 2000, when Hodges, who had gone through a divorce, found herself bored and in need of a challenge.

“I decided I would buy a house that needed fixing up,” she said. “I had no clue about what to do, but I hired someone to do some work, and after watching them, I said, ‘I could do that.’”

After remodeling her own bathroom and kitchen, “friends and friends of friends” began asking for help. That led to Hodges’ decision earlier this year to strike out on her own.

Despite the typical image of construction as a male-oriented business, Hodges said her plan to market her business to single women has not gone exactly as planned – about 50 percent of her business comes from men, and about half of the women who call her to do work are married.

She insists that she’s only had one customer question her ability – and ironically, it was a woman.

“I did have one woman say she needed such and such work done, and she wondered if I could (physically) do it,” Hodges said. “I told her I lifted Sheetrock all the time, so yes, I could do what she needed.”

Designed for success

Architect Stephanie Ireland also is in construction, designing facilities as the head of architecture firm Ireland & Associates.

She says the choice to go into architecture formed when she was young.

“My dad is a retired high-school woodshop teacher, and my mother is an interior design professor at (Missouri State University),” Ireland said. “Construction was always talked about at home, and I’ve always been familiar with construction and what goes on there.”

That doesn’t mean Ireland hasn’t faced down those who doubted whether she could find success as an architect.

“When I was in college at Texas Tech University in the architectural department, I had professors tell me I would never be an architect. (They said) I was just going to be home and be pregnant anyway, all because I was a woman,” Ireland said in her Most Influential Women application. She’s among this year’s 20 honorees for Springfield Business Journal’s Sept. 14 event.

While she said she still encounters some confusion – a salesperson will occasionally call the office asking for “Mr. Ireland,” for example – she doesn’t think the slip-ups are meant to be derogatory toward her ability as a woman to do quality work.

The biggest issue, she said, is developing a client’s confidence.

“Sometimes, people will assume you don’t know anything about construction because you’re a girl,” Ireland said. “So you do have to prove yourself. But to be honest, if you were a man, you’d still have to prove yourself anyway.”

‘Stand your ground’

As a contract administrator for Walton Construction, Stephanie San Paolo isn’t as directly involved in construction as Hodges or Ireland. When she graduated from MSU with a degree in administrative management, she wasn’t planning to pursue construction. Then a job for an office manager opened at Walton, she took the opportunity.

Now, eight years later, she’s in charge of finalizing Walton’s contracts with project owners and subcontractors, and making sure proper insurance is in place for job sites.

San Paolo said she doesn’t feel she’s been treated differently because of her gender, in large part because of her attitude toward the job.

“You can’t be about conflict avoidance,” she said. “You don’t need to cause conflict, but you can’t be afraid of it. Conflicts are going to come up, people are going to question you and you have to be confident in your abilities and willing to stand your ground.”

Hodges and Ireland agree.

“If you enjoy what you’re doing, don’t back down – do what you want to do even if someone says you can’t or you shouldn’t because you’re female,” Ireland said. “Don’t listen to them. Do what feels right.”

Hodges adds that, like any small-business owner, being ready for the financially tough times is essential. But, she adds, that shouldn’t stop people from following their heart.

“If you have a dream, you have to go for it,” Hodges said. “Life is too short.”

A sporting chance

Beyond construction, sports is another sector that’s predominantly male, but that hasn’t stopped Bobbi Box. Box rejoined the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau in July as sports sales manager after serving in convention sales 1991–93.

The key, she said, lies in establishing relationships.

“The sports market is very much about making relationships and getting to know people within the different affiliated sports,” said Box, whose job entails researching, recruiting and organizing sporting tournaments and events for the area. “It takes a lot of organizing venues, volunteers, people who will host and be the chair for that tournament.”

Box said she hasn’t been discouraged from taking a leading role in the area’s sports scene. She takes her cue from another local female sports leader: Springfield-Greene County Parks Department Director Jodie Adams.

“She’s involved not only with the park board but also with other sports groups, and she’s done a great job as a woman coming up through that market,” Box said. “She’s really been able to show Springfield in a good light, and also to show that (her job) is not a gender-specific role.”[[In-content Ad]]