Women In Construction Week Proves Vibrant for Novell Design Build

• By London Camaclang

Since last Monday, we have been celebrating Women in Construction Week and International Women’s Day 2021. The discussions we’ve started and contributed to will keep going all year long.

We are committed to being a positive force in this industry for equal gender opportunity. This effort includes engaging with our community, professional associations, encouraging more women into residential home building, and empowering women to excel when they join.

We are proud to have a female founding director, Laurel James, who leads our diverse team. We have over 45% of staff represented by women, and know that every member is here on their merits, not because of their preferred gender.

Women in construction include a variety of professions. We are proud to say this represents every department and level of our Novell Design Build.

Laurel James is our Director and the first chair of HAVAN’s Women’s Council. She has strong feelings about the idea of a gender-balanced team.

For all her volunteerism and leadership for equality in our industry, Laurel believes that the best person for the job should be employed and supported. Women will rise to challenges and can prove their skills if presented the opportunity. While Novell Design Build doesn’t hire based on gender, it isn’t a coincidence that we’ve achieved near-gender parity on our team. Laurel and the rest of our team invite women into construction conversations often and encourage them to apply when a job opportunity arises.

Complacency, when it comes to gender hiring practices, simply isn’t an option and definitely isn’t a pseudo-solution.

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The result of Laurel’s work is that we find women in construction, in all trades and professions, who believe that they are alone in their work. Women in construction aren’t alone, but our numbers are not rising at the rate we need. We need to do better.

“Women in British Columbia represent only about 4.5% of the skilled trades and that number has barely moved in decades.” reports the BC Centre for Women in the Trades.

If we could attract just 5% more women in BC, the massive labour shortage would be filled.

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This week, we celebrated each other’s achievements. Five of our female team members shared their experiences and challenges with the residential design build industry. They represent a future where it’s not strange to see a woman accomplishing skilled labour, managing an office, designing a home, managing a construction project, or running a company.

We #ChoosetoToChallenge by being really good at what we do. A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change.

See more on Instagram @NovellDB.

Residential Construction Needs Women in Trades.

• By Laurel James

Women represent only 4.5% of the skilled trades in BC.

Women represent only 4.5% of the skilled trades in BC. Residential construction needs women to help close the trade shortage, in fact: it won’t recover without women.

A 5% increase would close the gap — but let’s aim higher. As part of our celebrations and efforts this week for International Women’s Day, we want to share all the ways women in construction #ChooseToChallenge, everyday.

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Our Director, Laurel James is the first Chair of HAVAN’s Women’s Council.

With 115 members and growing, Women’s Council aims to ENGAGE the industry at large, EMPOWER women to excel and ENCOURAGE more women into the industry. ⁠

As one of their efforts toward these goals, they host regular events including an online Café Series. It’s an opportunity to connect with other professionals in residential construction, drink some wine together, listen to a moderated panel, and participate in an engaging conversation!

We are excited for the next Women’s Council Café Series on Wednesday, March 24 at 4:30 pm. Three highly experienced women from the trades world will be sharing how they found their career paths, diversified their skills, and continue to thrive in our industry today.

Featuring:
– Angela Cacase, founder of http://ow.ly/BGJt50DTsyP and Owner of A.Marie Design&Build LLC
– Kahla Lichti, Electrician by day and Published comic book writer by night
– Sandra Brynjolfson, Assistant Business Manager for IBEW Local 213, past Coordinator at the BC Centre for Women in The Trades (BCCWITT), a journey electrician for over 20 years, and a mentor to other tradeswomen
– Moderated by Sean Tobin, TCA Electric

Join the conversation at http://ow.ly/fsjn50DTsyQ ✅

This is how we #ChooseToChallenge

• By Laurel James

Happy International Women’s Day 2021! The theme this year is #ChooseToChallenge.

Today, women around the world are celebrating each other’s achievements, raising awareness against bias, and taking action for equality.

A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change.
We #ChooseToChallenge.

Supporting and celebrating women in residential construction is an important part of Novell Design Build’s culture. We are proud to have more than 45% of our team represented by women, in all parts and all levels of the company.

This week, we will be celebrating with our team (and the rest of the globe), the social, economical, and cultural achievements of female leaders around the world. Just one day isn’t enough.

Follow along on Instagram @NovellDB.