Women in Construction at METALCON 2018

METALCON 2018 will feature a panel presentation by expert women roofing professionals at the Charlotte Convention Center on Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 4:00 p.m.
 
Presenting “Building a Strong and Sustainable Business with Diversity,” women representing National Women in Roofing (NWIR) will discuss the importance of gender and generational diversity in the business, how to create a better balance in the industry, and the values of emotional intelligence, strong communication and collaboration needed to grow a sustainable and robust business.
 
“NWIR strives to bring the industry to a new level of excellence by supporting and promoting the contributions of women as an essential component to the future of roofing,” METALCON Show Director Claire Kilcoyne said.
 
Heidi Ellsworth, co-founder of NWIR and partner at Rooferscoffeeshop, will moderate the all-women panel – a mix of manufacturers and contractors―including Abigail Stone, Metalforming; Renae Bales, KPOST Roofing and Waterproofing; Magan Jenkins, StealthBond; and Chelsea Welsh, Gutter Helmet.
 
Each presenter will tell her story, offer insights on profitability and corporate culture, explain how to recruit more women into the industry and describe how women in the industry can help mentor each other rather than being competitive with each other.   For those with additional questions, MetalForming, Inc., is sponsoring a networking social at its booth immediately after the panel presentation.
 
NWIR is a volunteer-based organization with 1,000 members and 30 local counsels nationwide, and it is built upon four pillars―networking, mentoring, education and recruitment.  
 
“NWIR sees a huge need for networking, and METALCON provides an excellent opportunity to bring women in roofing together and help them build their businesses,” said Ellsworth.  “We have a how-to toolkit we send to counsels on creating mentoring circles, and we offer education through panel discussions, classes at shows, webinars, calls for papers and presentations at other national association gatherings.
 
“Our recruitment committee offers a how-to toolkit to counsels on recruitment, and we go into local communities to find women at trades schools, women in crisis situations and those in non-traditional trades,” Ellsworth continued.   “Our focus is to connect and empower women so their training and leadership skills can help drive the overall betterment and professionalism of the roofing industry.
 
 “With more women in the business, we have found the result is stronger communication and a better company culture,” Ellsworth added.   “Both lead to better business and greater profitability.”