Working at WW An Inside Look at Our Event

Working at WW An Inside Look at Our Event Back on March 14th, PowerToFly partnered with WW (formerly Weight Watchers) to present an evening of tech talks and discussions lead by their women tech leaders who are building the future of wellness. Hosted by PowerToFlys CoFounder CEO Milena Berry, the evening kicked off with a welcome address by WWs CTO Michael Lysaght, who then stuck around to answer questions during our networking session. Michel then passed the mic to Kayley Seder, Manager, Agile Project Management who dived a bit deeper into WWs platform and latest tools. Next, Milena moderated a panel discussion featuring four of WWs women tech leaders who shared their own career journeys, spoke about the work that WW is doing in the Android and conversational AI fields and about the employee resource groups that WW offers to help their women engineers take their careers to the next level. Our panel includedVeronica Brown, Scrum MasterLaure Price, Manager, Marketing TechnologyIfeoma Okereke, Software EngineerChao Dong, Software Engineer After our panel discussion, audience members had a chance to ask their own questions before we moved back into networking, with mora chances to enjoy the wonderful food and drinks that WW provided. WW is hiring To learn more about WW and their open positions, visit their page on PowerToFly. Networking at WW Welcome to WW CTO Michael Lysaght welcome our capacity crowd. CTO Michael Lysaght Kayley Seder, Manager, Agile Project Management leads the nights tech talk A packed house during our tech talk Our panel of WW women tech leaders A great panel and audience QA Attendees had a chance to try out the WW platform (and some yummy goodies too) Another look at the WW office One of the biggest challenges in almost all industries today is achieving gender parity. Gender diversity provides huge benefits in the workplace. pWhile some industries have made significant advancements in gender diversity, some industries lag further behind... and the construction industry is well-known for being in the latter category. If someone says, construction workers, youll likely picture a group of men in yellow hard hats analyzing an architects plans or laying bricks on top of a scaffold. And men at work signs only help to reinforce this image.pThis stereotype is rooted in reality. When was the last time you actually spotted a woman on a construction site? Or hired a female plumber or carpenter? Your answer is most likely never. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statisticsreports that only 3.4% of the total of 8.3 million construction employees are women.pBut the cons truction industry has a lot more to offer than steel-toed boots and hard hats, and it needs women to help advance the industry in this era of rapid change. Here are 5 reasons why women joining the workforce or looking to make a pivot should consider a career in construction.h21. Fuel Innovation/h2pNot only is diversity the socially and morally right thing to do, but it is also actually an excellent business strategy. pResearch presented in the Harvard Business Reviewshows that diverse teams develop more innovative ideas. This is further supported by a study conducted by Gallupon the performance of gender-diverse teams versus single-gender teams, which found that the difference in backgrounds and perspectives led to better business performance and problem-solving. h22. Capitalize on Demand/h2pThe construction industry is currently experiencing a labor shortage. The industry itself is booming and projected to be one of the fastest-growing industries, with total spending projected to e xceed $1.45 trillion in 2023/a. However, most construction companies are unable to meet the rising demand. pAccording to the Associated General Contractors of America/a, more than 80% of contractors are experiencing difficulties filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce.pAnd demand isnt limited to individual contributor roles. Given the industry boom, there are a number of open stable and high-paying roles (any project managers out there?) waiting for the right candidateh23. Leadership Opportunities/h2pAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics/a, women compose only 7.7% of the total 1 million managerial positions in construction.br/pBut given the highly collaborative nature of construction work, more women in leadership roles would help drive innovation and enhance productivity.Furthermore, as a woman in construction in a leadership position, youd have the unique opportunity to drive change for the industry and make it a more attractive o ption for other women.h24. High-Income Potential/h2pSalaries for many skilled positions in construction are on the rise, making a construction career a prime choice for women looking for a high-paying job,pThe 2018 Construction Craft Salary Surveyconducted by the National Center for Construction Education and Research revealed that salaries for many skilled craft areas are increasing. Project managers and project supervisors topped the list at $92,523 and $88,355, respectively. The next set of highest-paying jobs include those of combo welders ($71,067), instrumentation technicians ($70,080), pipe welders ($69,222), power line workers ($68,262) and industrial electricians ($67,269). Of the 32 categories of workers in the survey, 19 positions earned an average salary of $60,000 or higher.h25. Sense of accomplishment/h2p The construction industry can give employees a unique sense of achievement. Yes, the job is stressful and the work can be demanding, but nothing beats the feeling of being able to build something from the ground up. pHow many professionals in other industries can point at a school, a hospital, or a skyscraper and say I helped build that?pThe construction industry has a long way to go in combating gender bias and supporting women in the workforce, but given the current demand for workers, theres no better time to pick up a sledgehammer (figurative or literal) and smash the gender stereotypes plaguing the construction industry.