GlassBuild America kicked off its last day with the much-anticipated Women in Glass and Fenestration Breakfast Meetup, a follow-up to last year's first such gathering at GlassBuild. The theme of the session: If you see it, you can be it. Representation, and building other women up, matters.
Delivering the keynote, Flexibility and Gender Diversity, Colleen Pritchett, President, Aperture Solutions - U.S., Cornerstone Building Brands said, "Take risks. No one expects you to be 100% ready for a job. There's training and mentors to help you. If you're wondering if you're ready for something new or different, you're ready."
She also identified keys for flexibility and gender diversity in companies: "Empower women employees through mentorship and supportive culture; give access to education and training; offer flexibility in the workplace including leave and childcare; offer unique opportunities, and [encouragement] for women to ask for and go after those opportunities."
Leading an interactive discussion that followed, Stefanie Couch, Founder, Build Women and Build Women Construction told the audience, "Peak confidence in women is at 8 years old. But good news is, confidence can be built. We're all in the building industry. We're builders. How do YOU build confidence? It all starts with courage: the ability to do something that frightens you."