NAWIC: Number of women working in construction continues to grow

Anna Mathis is president of the National Association of Women in Construction Southwest Missouri Chapter No. 366.

The National Association of Women in Construction is, as the name implies, a women's association. It was founded in 1955 in Fort Worth, Texas. Since its founding, NAWIC has grown to a membership of 6,500 with more than 200 chapters in 47 states and in three Canadian provinces In 1996, NAWIC signed an international affiliation agreement with NAWIC-Australia

This affiliation already has 11 chapters throughout its borders. International affiliation agreements were signed with New Zealand in 1998 and with African Women in Construction in 1999. In 45 years of service to its membership, NAWIC has advanced the causes of all women in construction, whose careers range from business ownership to the skilled trades.

NAWIC's core purpose is to enhance the success of women in the construction industry.

NAWIC's commitment to education and skilled training can be seen in a variety of areas. For more than 20 years, the NAWIC Education Founda-tion has offered creative and educational programs for students from grade school to high school level. The foundation sponsors award-winning educational programs including Block-Kids and the CAD/design/drafting competitions. We are quite proud of the fact that the president of this year's education foundation is Carol Kueker of Springfield Glass Co.

Each year we are pleased to award more than $50,000 to worthy recipients in construction-related programs through our NAWIC Founder's Scholarship Founda-tion. Award amounts range from $500 to $2,000.

NAWIC works with other industry and governmental entities to promote and advance women in construction. These partnerships let NAWIC team with other groups to promote training among women in the skilled trades, cooperate in educational programs, and promote women-owned business.

Each year, NAWIC recognizes individuals who have advanced and promoted the role of women in construction through initiatives and/or policies. The Crystal Vision and Crystal Achievement Awards are designed to honor these individuals.

We thought we might pass on some facts on women in construction: Between 1995 and 2001, the number of women in construction increased 22 percent from 762,000 to 934,000.

There are 9.58 million total workers in construction, and 8.65 million are men.

Following is a breakdown by employment sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics-Current Population Survey.

Technical, sales and administrative support: 413,000 (44.2 percent)

Managerial and professional specialty: 322,000 (34.5 percent)

Precision, production and craft: 129,000 (13.8 percent)

Operators, fabricators and laborers: 59,000 (6.3 percent)

Service, farming, forestry and fishing: 12,000 (1.2 percent)

As you can see, we are way down the ladder when it comes to the construction work force. But we are gaining every day.

October 2001 introduced NAWIC again to the southwest Missouri area. It took a lot of work and commitment to get Southwest Missouri Chapter No. 366 chartered, but it was well worth it. There is no limit to the rewards from being a member of this chapter. On any given day, a person can call any of our members. This can be for anything from needing to know who does concrete, to a copy of a form, to personal support. Networking on jobs available is priceless. Our members call each other and let them know when one of us needs a job or needs to change jobs.

Our chapter members are from all areas of construction. No matter what your role in the construction industry mightbe, someone in your field is probably a member.

Our chapter is very civic minded. We have volunteered our time for Connection Handyman and Habitat for Humanity. During the holiday season we will be volunteering at The Kitchen.

We are starting a Block-Kids program of our own, and last spring we built birdhouses with the Girl Scouts. No matter what we do, we have a great time together. Come join us.