On Friday, June 23, Miron Construction Co., Inc., an AGC of Greater Milwaukee Inc. and AGC of Wisconsin member, welcomed 40 female students from local classrooms to its Neenah headquarters for the second annual Build Like a Girl event. The day-long program aims to showcase opportunities for women in the construction industry and combat both the severe lack of women in the field and the skills gap affecting the industry as a whole.

The free event was open to seventh to 10th grade girls interested in learning about careers in construction. Participants’ full-day of activities included a panel discussion with women in the field, a tour of the Fox Cities Exhibition Center jobsite and discussions surrounding topics such as typical wages in the industry, apprenticeship opportunities and safety.

The program also encompassed Miron tradespeople walking participants through multiple stations at a temporary jobsite—masonry, where they constructed a brick wall; carpentry, where they learned how to frame a stud wall; and equipment operation, where they experienced what it’s like to operate heavy machinery such as a crane.

Last year’s inaugural Build Like a Girl event hosted 29 participants and included stations in masonry, concrete and carpentry, structural steel erection, and heavy machinery operation. To learn more, visit http://www.miron-construction.com/build-like-a-girl.

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A student works at the masonry station at the 2016 Build Like a Girl event.