MADISON, WI – The Engineering Division is proud to join the nationally-recognized Women in Construction Week, March 7-13, 2021.

This is the second year City Engineering will be highlighting the work of five women with profile write ups, a podcast episode and social media videos. Starting March 8, 2021, the Engineering Division will post on the City and Engineering website a profile sharing the story of each woman’s journey to Engineering, projects they’ve worked on, experiences they’ve had in the construction industry and their approach to their work.

There is a multitude of career choices in construction, and women are now an integral part of that workforce nationwide. The percentage of women in Madison’s construction related workforce continues to grow. 

“The Engineering Division, and the City of Madison as a whole, is a better organization because of the talented women we have designing, building, maintaining and managing the construction related work that we do,” City of Madison Engineering Division City Engineer Rob Phillips said.

Each woman has made her own impact on the industry. By sharing these stories, the Engineering Division hopes to help raise awareness of the opportunity and the wide variety of paths and careers in the construction industry. The Engineering Division selected a variety of women with different backgrounds from different sections of the Engineering Division. The following women will be highlighted:

March 8: Jeanine Zwart, Construction Project Manager, Facilities Management Section
March 9: Maddie Dumas, Greenway Vegetation Coordinator, Stormwater Section
March 10: Hannah Mohelnitzky, City of Madison Engineering Division Public Information Officer, Engineering Division Communications
March 11: Brenda Stanley, Public Works Development Manager, Streets Design Section
March 12: Caroline Burger, Engineer, Stormwater Section

The Engineering Division also launched a new Everyday Engineering Podcast episode focusing on the bigger picture perspective of women in the construction industry, growth of support and promotion and how women are taking opportunities to lead in a male-dominated industry.  City of Madison Engineering Division Public Information Officer Hannah Mohelnitzky hosted President and CEO of CLE Consulting Dawn McIntosh and Madison College Construction and Remodeling Instructor Allie Berenyi.

The focus of Women in Construction (WIC) Week is to highlight women in the construction industry. WIC Week also provides an occasion for the National Association of Women in Construction’s thousands of members across the country to raise awareness of the opportunities available for women in the construction industry and to emphasize the growing role of women in the industry.

By the numbers: women in the industry
Women make up 10.9 percent of the U.S. construction workforce, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Women represent 23.39 percent of the City of Madison Engineering Division’s workforce.