March 4, 2022

In honor of the vital contributions women make to our company, industry, and communities, Balfour Beatty is proud to celebrate Women in Construction Week by spotlighting its Connecting Women employee affinity group and our teammates’ achievements in creating greater representation for women nationwide.

As the company’s first employee affinity group, Connecting Women holds a special place in the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion journey. Since launching in 2015, Connecting Women grew from a grassroots initiative into a multi-chapter networking program across the nation. While every chapter is unique in its approach and objectives—one fact is universally true: the formation of Connecting Women was a spark that ignited the flame for change, growth and action for women across the company. 

It is with tremendous pride that we reflect on our Connecting Women employee affinity group’s legacy and look to the future for women in construction with optimism and confidence. The case has never been more compelling for women to exert their leadership, influence, and talents at every level and role within our organization, demonstrating that Balfour Beatty is a place where women are supported and empowered to build rewarding and limitless careers. 

From providing opportunities for mentorship and career development to addressing the unique challenges women in our industry encounter such as properly fitting PPE to separate jobsite sanitary facilities, Connecting Women has united Balfour Beatty women across diverse roles, backgrounds, and perspectives. Together, our teammates have achieved: 

• Tackling important topics such as pay gaps, unconscious bias, and the imposter syndrome, a phenomenon which can cause individuals to unjustly doubt their skills, talents, or accomplishments. 
• Creating a greater awareness around the many Balfour Beatty women already occupying senior executive leadership positions. 
• Growing together by giving back to our local communities through organizations such as Dress for Success, Habitat for Humanity, Operation Christmas Child, Big Sister League of San Diego, Martha’s Table, Women's Construction Coalition, Give Kids the World, Big Brothers Big Sisters, local school systems and many more. 

And yet – we know that there is still much work to do to ensure greater representation, balance, and equity for women across our industry while inspiring the next generation to believe with conviction and authority that they can make their mark in craft, professional and executive roles.  

But we can’t get there alone. 

Creating lasting change requires courage, commitment, and most importantly, the power of connection, and we can all take actionable steps to ensure everyone’s voice is valued. To ensure our people-first promise of being a voice for advocacy and change, our team members nationwide will take part in constructive conversations that will feature women leaders from across our global business and diverse members from our company’s employee affinity groups.

Join us in supporting a more inclusive and equitable future for all and be sure to check us out on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to follow our week-long celebration of Women in Construction.