{"id":1411,"date":"2017-03-07T16:19:07","date_gmt":"2017-03-07T21:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blogs\/?p=1411"},"modified":"2018-01-29T14:17:50","modified_gmt":"2018-01-29T19:17:50","slug":"paving-the-way-for-women-in-construction-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/paving-the-way-for-women-in-construction-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Paving the way for women in construction safety"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>In recognition of International Women\u2019s Day on March 8, and this year\u2019s theme, #BeBoldForChange, we are featuring stories from our leaders and employees throughout the month of March, describing their own bold moments in relation to workplace equality and honoring diversity and inclusion.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m always up for a challenge, and choosing a career in construction safety in the Middle East meant there would be a lot of them. In this industry there are fewer women, not only in my specific field, but also in leadership positions, and because I\u2019ve been successful in my own path, I feel an obligation to mentor and connect with other women and help them flourish in whatever role or field they set their sights on.<\/p>\n<p>I believe there\u2019s a high expectation for me as a woman to outperform my counterparts, as well as a notion that other women in similar roles may be judged based on how well I do. Often I\u2019m the first woman that people have seen in my profession, so I\u2019m changing people\u2019s expectations about how a woman can contribute to construction safety.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1414\" src=\"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/103\/2017\/03\/Nicole-Ivers_2_690x355.jpg\" alt=\"Nicole Ivers_2_690x355\" width=\"690\" height=\"355\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Nicole-Ivers_2_690x355.jpg 690w, https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Nicole-Ivers_2_690x355-300x154.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To #BeBoldForChange, we must be present and be seen; we must speak up and ensure our voices are heard. As a woman, take a seat at the head of the table. You can\u2019t wait to be noticed, and sometimes that means stepping out of your comfort zone to pursue your dreams. And if we do encounter biases, such as the assumption that a woman with children can\u2019t or won\u2019t travel for work, or that a promotion is due to a gender quota, we can use these experiences as incentive to change people\u2019s minds.<\/p>\n<p>I have fought hard to overcome barriers and have a \u201cseat at the table,\u201d and I hope my efforts pave the way for others. Progress begins with recognizing ingrained biases and then working to change that aspect of the culture. For me, a company culture that supports diversity and inclusion means creating an even playing field so all employees have the opportunity to realize their professional ambitions.<\/p>\n<p>Our differences are what make strong project teams and a strong workforce. Our varied backgrounds, experience and viewpoints help us provide our clients with the best solutions and outcomes for their projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In recognition of International Women\u2019s Day on March 8, and this year\u2019s theme, #BeBoldForChange, we are featuring stories from our leaders and employees throughout the month of March, describing their own bold moments in relation to workplace equality and honoring diversity and inclusion. I\u2019m always up for a challenge, and choosing a career in construction [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":317,"featured_media":1418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[2024],"yst_prominent_words":[885,1037,925,446,1030,1043,841,450,959,517,961,549,1034,1031,1035,1036,1044,1042,871,539],"class_list":["post-1411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employee-excellence","tag-inclusion-and-diversity"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/317"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1411"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=1411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}