Women Build

Here is a "daily diary" entry I was asked to write for National Women Build Week.

Fact. Women Build. Just yesterday I was one of two people working on a Habitat for Humanity house in a West Dallas neighborhood, both of us women. Several of the neighborhood men stopped long enough to ask us if we knew what we were doin' up there on that roof. Yes, we're not up here fixin' our nails or baking cupcakes but doing actual work. We're the house leaders, yes we are women who know how to build a house. We're not alone either. Women Build.
Today I had the opportunity to work on a home as part of National Women Build Week. It was a paint day which is an unfortunate representation of the work women do for Habitat. Painting is often deemed "women's work." But, this is not so often the case in my experiences with Habitat. If it wasn't for women, who account for half our Construction Supervisor staff and 70% of the Assistant Construction staff at Dallas Area Habitat, our homes wouldn't get built. I have personally worked on several homes that will end up in the hands of single mother's and it is one of my greatest joys to empower these women in the actual building of their homes. I don't hand them brooms or nail magnets, but hammers and saws. Women Build. Women build and own their own homes. Women teach and lead others in all aspects of building homes. Women carry 80 pound stacks of shingles up ladders and install 4x8 pieces of OSB on a 6 pitch roof. So, the next time you're out on a construction site and a bunch of women come around, don't count them out, but step up to the plate.
There isn't a National Women Build Week because its the only 7 days a year that women are in the construction world. For many of us it is just another week. Women Build. This week only highlights the enormous contribution women have to the home building industry, especially in the non-profit sector. Women Build. Why not have a woman build your next home?