Standing-room-only Women in Glass + Fenestration at GlassBuild
How can we encourage the next generation of women to join the glass and fenestration industry? Successful female industry experts Deb Callahan of the National Fenestration Rating Council, Barbara Kotsos of Giroux Glass and Alicia Hamilton of the National Glass Association had some ideas and advice for the crowd that attended the standing-room-only Women in Glass and Fenestration event that was held Wednesday morning at GlassBuild.
"The voices of women are very important," explained Callahan. "Women are strong leaders and it's critically important that we share resources and information with one another. Women lead by example so please help one another by advocating, mentoring and helping to pay it forward."
"If you want to feel inspired and supportive just get in touch with other women who do what we do in the industry and see what they do to try and promote other young people to get into the industry," shared Kotsos. "Because I was so new to the industry and recognized how absolutely little I knew about it, I thought the best way that I could learn would be by involving myself with a community of women in the industry such as the National Association of Women in Construction. You get the real nitty-gritty from talking to the women who work in our field.
"This industry is very personal to me because I grew up in it; a small minority-owned, family-owned business in Northern Virginia," said Hamilton. "As far as raising awareness to other women? Just be confident in yourself. Don't be afraid to speak up and stand strong."
To finish things off, AGMT recognized mother-daughter glazing team Anna Wright and Casey Weir with plaques for their extraordinary achievement as the first female certified glaziers. Their certification leads the way and shows what can be accomplished with hard work, dedication and attention to detail.