Woman Strong
Women in Construction Expo 2003

Was held Saturday, November 8, 2003
Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center

The first ever Women in Construction Expo was a 9 month long collaborative effort that shaped an incredible 7 hour-long community event. The day was filled with presentations on topics such as "Environmental Consciousness and Context in Building Design: Making Informed Choices", "The Evolution of Buildings", "Professions in Building and Infrastructure Design", and "The Basic Principles of Feng Shui".

Local women gave slide shows about how they built their own homes while hands-on demonstrations focused on tools and tool usage for both the attending women and girls. Expo participants were also able to converse with female carpenters from the Twin Cities and look at pictures of current jobsites and completed metro projects.

Vendors, retailers, and organizations were on hand with exhibitions and informational handouts. A journeywoman and female apprentices from three trades, the Electrical Union, the Regional Council of Carpenters and Joiners, and the Sheet Metal Workers, talked about being female and working for the Unions while engaging women and girls with building projects.

We estimate that (counting youth) about 200 people came through the event including Duluth's mayor elect Herb Bergson and Channel 6 News. The highlights for us, as organizers and members of Women in Construction Co., LLC, were watching an incredibly large group of women participate in the plumbing and tile demos, Expo attendees crowd the workshop spaces, and group after group of girls fill up the Home Girls Project Center.

Our goal with this event was to educate the public about women working in the trades and the possibilities that exist for women within these contemporary, non- traditional careers. Many Expo attendees came away from the event appreciating the exposure to aspects of the building trades that they otherwise wouldn't have received. As they were taught skills, women and girls from Duluth and surrounding communities realized their own potential and saw themselves in the hands and faces of the 'female' carpenters, the 'she' architects, the 'lady' plumber, and the 'young woman' welder.

Sponsored by Women in Construction Company, LLC, of Duluth, Minnesota

See the Expo 2003 Photo Gallery!

"Crisis changes people and turns ordinary people into wiser and more responsible ones."
Wilma Mankiller, Cherokee Chief 1987

Women in Construction Article

Woman Strong Women in Construction Expo 2003

Was held Saturday, November 8, 2003 Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center

Woman Strong
Women in Construction Expo 2003

Was held Saturday, November 8, 2003
Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center