Magic (Mentoring a Girl in Construction)

[Eieio]

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Sparks fly everywhere as Samantha Mascari giggles and uses a power grinder to polish a test piece of metal.

This is not her father's shop class.

It's a summer camp called MAGIC (Mentoring a Girl in Construction).

You know it's something unique when you walk in to the classroom at Gwinnett Technical College and see only pink hardhats. Even the director, Renee Conner, is in on the theme and wear pink steel toe boots.

She herself was told as a girl that she could never work in construction or the building industry. That just made her want to do it even more.

Conner owns Precision Tapping, Inc., a company that specializes in drilling holes into water pipes that are under pressures.

"The real goal of this camp is to teach these young women that they can do anything they put their minds to," said Conner.

Camper Samantha Mascari is in the process of completing her GED and is at MAGIC camp to check out possible careers.

"I know I don't want to sit behind a desk everyday and I'm learning that there are a lot of really good paying opportunities in construction," said Mascari.

Already she's discovered a real knack for carpentry.

"I'm very good at precision with lengths. Im really good at following directions and no offense to guys, but they're not very good at that," joked Mascari.

MAGIC is a nationwide program. The Sugarloaf Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction is reponsible for the camp being held this week at Gwinnett Technical College. There is no cost to the campers to attend. It's paid for by sponsorships from several construction companies and a partnership with the college and its instructors.

By the end of the week, the 12 young women will have tackled basic carpentry, wiring and electical work and welding among other things. Regardless of whether they choose a career in construction, they'll leave with lifelong skills they can use in other areas.

Jessica Kirkland has been to MAGIC camp three times. This year she's a counselor and at home she's in the midst of building an elaborate shoe display in her closet.

"I love the idea of being able to do a project all on my own and not have to ask anyone to help me," said Kirkland.

For more information visit www.mentoringagirlinconstruction.com



Link to video

http://www.11alive.com/video/?maven_playerId=sect_frontpage&maven_referralObject=1156179410&maven_referrer=staf

[Winchester]

I think it's cool that there are women in construction, but you really have to consider extra things if you're going to have a woman on your crew. Most women are not as physically strong as men. Also, if she is a relatively attractive female she may be very distracting to other men on your crew (seen a crew with a female, and production went down until she was paired with a respectful, older man).

I'm not going to say one is better than the other, but I hate when people try to be PC and say they are the "same" or that "women can do just as well whatever a man can do". Men are better at some things and women are better at some things. God made us differently.

Each gender has their own things you need to consider when employing them for a physically demanding job.

I will admit that I think there are some jobs women shouldn't generally do (don't worry, construction isn't one of them)*

zAnDumJpil0

* by that I mean the standards for admission should be strict (like they used to be). There would probably be some women who meet physical standards but they would be very large, burly, women. Don't adjust your standards so you can be politically correct. They were there for a good reason.

If you were passed out on the fifth floor in a burning building a minute from death who would you rather walk through the door in a fire-fighter suit? Arnold Scwartzeneger or Jane Fonda?

[Eieio]

Jane Fonda. I would rather see her face seconds before I die over Arnold :2thumbsup:

[Winchester]

Jane Fonda. I would rather see her face seconds before I die over Arnold :2thumbsup:

:laugh3:But if Arnold carried you out of the building you'd have a chance at living. Jane Fonda might be able to drag you and drop you over the edge :mad2:

[KitchenSync]

Anything to help, but pink hardhats?!? Gah. :ninja-sur:

[Eieio]

VCKgCf4ev2o

[Dusty]

[QUOTE=Winchester;4344]I think it's cool that there are women in construction, but you really have to consider extra things if you're going to have a woman on your crew. Most women are not as physically strong as men. Also, if she is a relatively attractive female she may be very distracting to other men on your crew (seen a crew with a female, and production went down until she was paired with a respectful, older man).

I'm not going to say one is better than the other, but I hate when people try to be PC and say they are the "same" or that "women can do just as well whatever a man can do". Men are better at some things and women are better at some things. God made us differently.

Each gender has their own things you need to consider when employing them for a physically demanding job.

I will admit that I think there are some jobs women shouldn't generally do (don't worry, construction isn't one of them)*


True. Men and women are built differently. A woman in the should be treated the same as a man and held up to the same expectations. No special treatment. We don't want it.

I have been in a man's world all my life. Some men are distracted by a woman in their place, but that is the unprofessionalism reflecting on the male worker and they should be put in their place immediatly. When you are on a job site, you act accordingly.

Honestly, the main problem I had while working with men was showing up their work and/or having more knowledge then them. Some guys don't take that well. I think that has subsided a great deal over the years as men have come to realize that a lot of females have great skills. Kids today have grown up with mothers who have done the impossible.

[Winchester]

I have been in a man's world all my life. Some men are distracted by a woman in their place, but that is the unprofessionalism reflecting on the male worker and they should be put in their place immediatly. When you are on a job site, you act accordingly.Good point.

Honestly, the main problem I had while working with men was showing up their work and/or having more knowledge then them. Some guys don't take that well. I think that has subsided a great deal over the years as men have come to realize that a lot of females have great skills. Kids today have grown up with mothers who have done the impossible.
I think in general Men's biggest problem is pride. Even if you werent a woman and you were constantly "showing up their work" it could create tension.
Women generally don't have that problem.

I was very close to hiring a woman lead carpenter until I met the guy I currently have. He has almost 20 years more experience than the woman, so it was a no-brainer.

[Dusty]

I think in general Men's biggest problem is pride. Even if you werent a woman and you were constantly "showing up their work" it could create tension.
Women generally don't have that problem.
I understand. But guys also feel envious of other mens work as well. They need to suck it up and deal with it or raise their own standards.

I was very close to hiring a woman lead carpenter until I met the guy I currently have. He has almost 20 years more experience than the woman, so it was a no-brainer
I have also had this experience while working in a factory. I was getting passed up for supervisor positions. I took it for what it was. The owners knew a female heading a dept. of 50 men was a bad decision. Business is business. Such is life.
Decrimination? Yes and no. As an honorable person, I can understand a business decision. I was never bitter about it. I took it as a push to create my own destiny. Another personality would have taken it differently.

[Winchester]

I think in general Men's biggest problem is pride. Even if you werent a woman and you were constantly "showing up their work" it could create tension.
Women generally don't have that problem.
I understand. But guys also feel envious of other mens work as well. They need to suck it up and deal with it or raise their own standards.Exactly, I'm not going to defend somebody's problems.
"Suck it up, buttercup."

I was very close to hiring a woman lead carpenter until I met the guy I currently have. He has almost 20 years more experience than the woman, so it was a no-brainer
I have also had this experience while working in a factory. I was getting passed up for supervisor positions. I took it for what it was. The owners knew a female heading a dept. of 50 men was a bad decision. Business is business. Such is life.
Decrimination? Yes and no. As an honorable person, I can understand a business decision. I was never bitter about it. I took it as a push to create my own destiny. Another personality would have taken it differently.
Bad decision to hire a woman in charge of men? I don't think so as long as the woman is experienced and qualified.

A woman who is not experienced or qualified is going to have a lot tougher time than a man with similar experience or low qualification for the job though. Someone on another forum was having big problems with a project manager who was a woman in charge of a large job. She had no clue what she was doing and I think it was magnified by the fact she was a woman. If it were a guy he would have just been classified as an "idiot".

[fez-head]

By the end of the week, the 12 young women will have tackled basic carpentry, wiring and electical work and welding among other things. Regardless of whether they choose a career in construction, they'll leave with lifelong skills they can use in other areas


OMG! They are making female HACKS! :mad2: Don't they know that Mike Finley says you can only work "one" trade otherwise you are a hack?......... they will be destined to be lowly Handywomen I guess.

The good thing is they can come to work for Handyman Solutions and make $20 an hour plus bennies if they know their stuff. :idea:

[fez-head]

I have been in a man's world all my life. Some men are distracted by a woman

RCP's avatar is very distracting to me.....I am constantly distracted by women every where I go - :surrender:

[RCP]

This better?

I think (hope) things are changing enough that a person is valued for their skills, not gender. :)

[TulsaRemodeler]

If I'm in an occupied house doing a kitchen I'd prefer a female, if I'm doing serious demolition I want a dude, big strong one. Bull dikes are pretty cool, theres no weird sexual thing and and they appreciate being treated well. Tough for them sometimes.

[Silvertree]

I believe woman adjust easier to the job site than men adjust to the women.

But if you want America back your gonna need to stand side by side with the woman. A lot of guys may remember and accept that the United States was a free country because the women did as much as the men during the Revolution and then went on to be equal partners in settling the country.

In WWW2 women worked the factories and kept our infrastructure intact.

My mother and my aunts were all factory girls during the war, I grew up in the company of these loud and sure woman. It gave me a pretty good respect for how strong they were and how respectful the men (my uncles) were around them.

[George Z]

Most of my painters are women,
if the guys have a problem with that,
the problem is the guys.
Yes the women sometimes are tougher, sometimes stronger.
All three of our job managers are women.
These are stereotypes we think here.

[Silvertree]

OK, I'll bite.
What are you calling a raise, well maybe in your case its a small raise:grin:

[TulsaRemodeler]

What are you calling a raise, well maybe in your case its a small raise:grin:
:rolleyes3::laugh3:

[Silvertree]

Anything to help, but pink hardhats?!? Gah. :ninja-sur:

I didn't know we had that smiley, yow!

So RC Ninja delivered 2 pink hardhats.

There is a very good chance the Remodel Crazy site will end up being a good place to forget there is a gender gap.
But I'm sure it will be an education from both sides.

I still remember RC's first and second posts, classic stuff for Remodel Crazy archivists.

[The Perminator]

About the Pink hard hats. That MAGIC camp was started by the Sugarloaf NAWIC chapter and we all had pink hard hats. I still have one in the back of my car. It was kind of a tradition, a trademark for that chapter.
Women have physical limitations on a construction site but they have an advantage because they have better small motor control which makes them great at detail jobs, like finish work and painting. It doesn't mean that they can't lift and tote, though.
My career in non-traditional jobs began in the early seventies when as a factory worker for RCA I earned less per hour testing electronic components for government projects being shot into space than the labor cleaners sweeping the floor. It was a union thing, I was supporting myself and my husband while he attended college (don't even ask), so I aspired to become a janitor and put in for an upgrade. The front office guys kept calling me in for "conferences"--I worked the graveyard shift--to tell me how hard the job was going to be for me and how the other labor cleaners were going to resent me. Of course, when the new job came through they made sure that I was assigned to clean ALL of the men's restrooms. My fellow janitors made me a special sign--"WO-man working"--to put up while I was cleaning the bathrooms, showed me the ropes, and had my back in case anyone tried to give me a hard time. It was a positive experience and it opened the doors for a lot of women to upgrade to at the time were non-traditional jobs. But the real resistance came from the desk guys in the front office. They weren't interested in changing the hierarchy. Not one little bit.

[Eieio]

OK off topic but you think that you should not been working to support your husband while he was in school?? "Yeah I asked" had to

[The Perminator]

OK off topic but you think that you should not been working to support your husband while he was in school?? "Yeah I asked" had to

Okay, okay. If I hadn't said "don't ask" no one would have. :rolleyes3:

Nothing wrong with supporting husbands while they are in school, if they hold to the bargain and support you while you return to school and don't knock you around. :thumbsdown:
Just so you know he is not my husband any more--hasn't been for decades.
But the factory job was nice! :grin:

[Eieio]

Okay, okay. If I hadn't said "don't ask" no one would have. :rolleyes3:

Nothing wrong with supporting husbands while they are in school, if they hold to the bargain and support you while you return to school and don't knock you around. :thumbsdown:
Just so you know he is not my husband any more--hasn't been for decades.
But the factory job was nice! :grin:


Gotcha I thought you were going to go with it should have been the other way around. Him working while you were in school etc.

Also thanks for the update on the marital status :grin:

[The Perminator]

Gotcha I thought you were going to go with it should have been the other way around. Him working while you were in school etc.

Also thanks for the update on the marital status :grin:

You're welcome, sir!

[Eieio]

I think it's an challenging thing for a women to be in construction.Even it's cool that there are women in construction, but you really have to consider extra things if you're going to have a woman on your crew.

Such as? Can you give us examples of what we would have to consider?

[Silvertree]

Yeah, what would that be. Enquiring minds want to know.

[Ed The Roofer]

Leather Wedding And Prom Dresses I suspect.

I could go much farther with my imagination if you want.....:grin:

Ed

[naptownCr]

[QUOTE=Winchester;4344]I think it's cool that there are women in construction, but you really have to consider extra things if you're going to have a woman on your crew. Most women are not as physically strong as men. Also, if she is a relatively attractive female she may be very distracting to other men on your crew (seen a crew with a female, and production went down until she was paired with a respectful, older man).

I'm not going to say one is better than the other, but I hate when people try to be PC and say they are the "same" or that "women can do just as well whatever a man can do". Men are better at some things and women are better at some things. God made us differently.

Each gender has their own things you need to consider when employing them for a physically demanding job.

I will admit that I think there are some jobs women shouldn't generally do (don't worry, construction isn't one of them)*


True. Men and women are built differently. A woman in the should be treated the same as a man and held up to the same expectations. No special treatment. We don't want it.

I have been in a man's world all my life. Some men are distracted by a woman in their place, but that is the unprofessionalism reflecting on the male worker and they should be put in their place immediatly. When you are on a job site, you act accordingly.

Honestly, the main problem I had while working with men was showing up their work and/or having more knowledge then them. Some guys don't take that well. I think that has subsided a great deal over the years as men have come to realize that a lot of females have great skills. Kids today have grown up with mothers who have done the impossible.

You go Dusty
I have worked for Men and Women in my career. I have found the women are much more level headed and much less testeroterone driven than Men. The thought of the "flighty woman" in business is in reality a myth. There need to be more Women in the trades period, end of story. By the way guys no period jokes intended I mean this seriously.

[The Perminator]

[QUOTE=Dusty;4661]

You go Dusty
I have worked for Men and Women in my career. I have found the women are much more level headed and much less testeroterone driven than Men. The thought of the "flighty woman" in business is in reality a myth. There need to be more Women in the trades period, end of story. By the way guys no period jokes intended I mean this seriously.

As long as the subject is hormones, I have found that men are MUCH more hormone driven than women, hence the distraction factor when a woman is added to a crew. The woman is not distracted, the MEN are. Why? Because they are hormone driven, the poor dears.
We notice a change in behavior in women because it only happens once a month, but the boys are affected by their testosterone levels ALL THE TIME. And it is the women who have to pay for their affliction--decreased production on the job. All because they can't keep focused?
I never could figure out that one. You men are distracted, and yet it is my fault?
Lucky for me, I am an old lady now and am no longer affected by monthlies and feel free to harass young men all I want! :2thumbsup:

[Eieio]

[QUOTE=naptownCr;6896]

As long as the subject is hormones, I have found that men are MUCH more hormone driven than women, hence the distraction factor when a woman is added to a crew. The woman is not distracted, the MEN are. Why? Because they are hormone driven, the poor dears.
We notice a change in behavior in women because it only happens once a month, but the boys are affected by their testosterone levels ALL THE TIME. And it is the women who have to pay for their affliction--decreased production on the job. All because they can't keep focused?
I never could figure out that one. You men are distracted, and yet it is my fault?
Lucky for me, I am an old lady now and am no longer affected by monthlies and feel free to harass young men all I want! :2thumbsup:

Do you like M&M's :grin:

[The Perminator]

Oooh, look! I have a pink hat now! Sorry, I got distracted.

I need help from the moderator here, because I don't know where to post this, but you contractors need to be aware of a federal regulation that will affect YOU beginning in April 2010 concerning work done in buildings built before 1978. If you affect more than 6 square feet inside or 20 square feet outside or replace windows you will have to be certified in this lead paint awareness for remodelers and you have to have someone ON SITE that has been trained in lead abatement. This is an extension of the lead paint abatement program and it is coming.
Here is a link:

http://www.nahb.org/category.aspx?sectionID=879

Ignore this at your peril. Our Atlanta NARI already has had one roundtable class in this and will have another one in October.
Thanks and sorry to post this here. It is the one place on Remodel Crazy that I am familiar.

[Eieio]

Oooh, look! I have a pink hat now! Sorry, I got distracted.

I need help from the moderator here, because I don't know where to post this, but you contractors need to be aware of a federal regulation that will affect YOU beginning in April 2010 concerning work done in buildings built before 1978. If you affect more than 6 square feet inside or 20 square feet outside or replace windows you will have to be certified in this lead paint awareness for remodelers and you have to have someone ON SITE that has been trained in lead abatement. This is an extension of the lead paint abatement program and it is coming.
Here is a link:

http://www.nahb.org/category.aspx?sectionID=879

Ignore this at your peril. Our Atlanta NARI already has had one roundtable class in this and will have another one in October.
Thanks and sorry to post this here. It is the one place on Remodel Crazy that I am familiar.

we have a couple of discussion going on about it. search: lead paint

http://www.remodelcrazy.com/forum/showthread.php?t=256&highlight=lead+paint

[The Perminator]

[QUOTE=The Perminator;6991]

Do you like M&M's :grin:

Yes, yes, I do! Aww, you read my Linkedin post!

The Posse Meeting was great! We have the rest of the meetings set for the year, plus we set up our first internet marketing work shop on How to Set up a LinkedIn account. In September we have our first speaker and we are going to invite the NKBA chapter members to attend, our August meeting is going to be a round table on Skills for Time Management, October's theme is Social Media Marketing, November will be a program called Consultative Selling and December will be Defining your own Role as a Business Woman. Our member who set up our LinkedIn page for Atlanta NARI WINN also graciously set up a page for Atlanta NARI and she is our Webmaster. You know her, by the way.
I guess I am still enthused from yesterday's meeting! :idea3:

[Eieio]

[QUOTE=Servicezunlimited;6996]

Yes, yes, I do! Aww, you read my Linkedin post!

The Posse Meeting was great! We have the rest of the meetings set for the year, plus we set up our first internet marketing work shop on How to Set up a LinkedIn account. In September we have our first speaker and we are going to invite the NKBA chapter members to attend, our August meeting is going to be a round table on Skills for Time Management, October's theme is Social Media Marketing, November will be a program called Consultative Selling and December will be Defining your own Role as a Business Woman. Our member who set up our LinkedIn page for Atlanta NARI WINN also graciously set up a page for Atlanta NARI and she is our Webmaster. You know her, by the way.
I guess I am still enthused from yesterday's meeting! :idea3:

Hmmm who could that be?

[Eieio]

Perminator you brought up a point a minute ago that I challenge a bit. I am going to post it in thunder dome so the public can't see it

[The Perminator]

we have a couple of discussion going on about it. search: lead paint

http://www.remodelcrazy.com/forum/showthread.php?t=256&highlight=lead+paint

Thanks! I passed it on to the government affairs committee.