When people think of the construction industry, they tend to think of men. But women right here in Hampton Roads working on the largest offshore wind project in United States' history are changing that.
"There is room for women in this industry," said Michelle Kleinau, a project engineer with Dominion Energy, when asked what Women in Construction Week means to her.
Women in Construction Week happens during the first full week of March and is linked with the founding of The National Association of Women in Construction in 1953.
According to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women hold less than 11% of all jobs in the construction industry.
But when it comes to Dominion Energy's Offshore Wind Project, it is women who are ensuring the project is well-organized and stays on track.
"We are currently rebuilding 1,500 linear feet of the wharf to increase the capacity to be able to stage the pieces for the offshore wind project," explained Lisa Flittner, a project engineer with Skanska, the company building a $223 million staging port to support the offshore wind project.
The staging port includes a 72-acre terminal that will be used to construct wind turbines for Dominion Energy's Offshore Wind Project.
Building the terminal includes 130,000 tons of aggregate and demolishing 10,000 cubic yards of concrete, which is enough concrete to fill three Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Flittner says when she started in the construction industry nearly 10 years ago, she was the only female out of 40 project employees. Today, she stands alongside six other women.
"I'm a project engineer here on site and I am the only project engineer that is a woman," she said. "We also have a couple of other women on site who are craft workers. One is a welder, one is a lift operator."
Flittner believes that as the number of women in construction grows, so does the industry's productivity and efficiency.
"It brings a new perspective and a new way of looking at things," she said. "Women look at things differently."
Kleinau agrees.
"Women tend to be a little more detail-oriented and organized in a lot of ways, so they have a different way of looking at things," she said.
When Kleinau entered the construction industry, she relied on her female mentors to help her through. Now, she hopes to be an inspiration for other young women looking to enter the industry.
"It can be hard when you're the only one in the room," she said. "So to be able to show that women are capable and women are excelling in this work, then that's more reason to be hiring more women."
The 72-acre terminal is on track for completion in 2025. The wind turbines that will eventually be constructed on the terminal are predicted to power 660,000 homes.
