Women in Construction Spotlight: Rachel Soanes
This week provides an opportunity to recognize and honor women who have overcome barriers to excel in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
This week provides an opportunity to recognize and honor women who have overcome barriers to excel in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
Rachel Soanes, a talented and dedicated employee at Molin Concrete Products, gave advices to women who are pursuing careers in this exciting and dynamic field.
What is your role?
I am an IT Manager.
Why did you choose to work in construction?
Construction is a field that has historically been slow to change, especially where it has to do with technology. I was intrigued with the opportunity of leading information technology for a company; helping teams successfully navigate change while knowing the immense amount of potential technology could provide in this industry; Provide strategic partnership through the alignment of IT objectives and activities with cross-department objectives and processes.
How long have you been in the industry?
I have been in the construction industry for a total of 9 years and the IT industry for 9 years.
What advice would you give to women seeking to enter or advance in this industry?
The advice I would give women who are looking to enter this industry would be to:
Be confident: ask questions; share your feedback and insights.
Don’t take things at face value. Construction industry’s tend to keep doing things the way they were always done. That doesn’t always lead to a good resolve. Innovation starts with conversation, so ask why and share ideas/thoughts for ways to make things better.
Be your own advocate. Take pride in your career. Don’t afraid to communicate your current and future goals. Find a mentor to give you an understanding of the industry, company, job.
Rachel Soanes
Molin Concrete Products
Know your worth! Hewlett-Packard conducted a study to find out why higher numbers of women don’t hold more managerial positions. What they found was: men will apply for a job promotion if they feel they’ve met 60 percent of the criteria, while women will doubt their credentials unless they’ve met 100 percent of the qualifications.