Everyone has had one of those weeks when you put out a fire only to find another raging. If you are having one of those weeks take a minute and enjoy an episode of IT Crowd; I promise if you search the title of this blog followed by IT Crowd you will find it.

While this year, month, and the past few days (Tennessee we are all praying for you) may seem like 2016 is on fire, we will all get past it and hopefully learn from it. I think that when you have that type of week, it provides insight into how you handle pressure, helps you find your passions, and what gets under your skin. I handle pressure by explaining my frustrations to others, sometimes this is a little to animated for my co workers but it helps me to trudge through the fire calmly. This month’s fire week also brought to my attention a phrase which bothers me, “us women need to stick together”.

These words were brought into conversation by a fellow woman in the construction industry. She was trying to resolve an issue over a document set which had conflicting upload dates. Not the most interesting conflict but it still warranted a series of emails and eventually a phone call. When I answered the phone, she started our conversation with something along these lines: “I know that my colleague has spoken to you about this. But since these men can’t seem to figure this out, why don’t we clean it up. I mean us women need to stick together.” Alright I am probably exaggerating a bit, but it gives you an idea. I didn’t know how to respond so I simply asked how I could help resolve the issue. This interaction bothered me for the rest of the day and got me thinking.

9,813,000 work in the construction industry, of which 872,000 (8.9%) are women; this is according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I understand that about 9% may not seem like much but it is enough to make an impact. The reason I was so bothered was because she was trying to gain my help by degrading my male colleagues. (Just in-case you where wondering, that doesn’t work with me.) The best policy is respect; respect of gender, values, preservative, race, lifestyle, etc. If you respect others, chances are they will show you the same respect. Ladies if you want to stick together as a women in the industry, find a mentor who can provide perspective and ideas on things that are frustrating you at work  or engage in networking events to connect with other women. Just don’t besmirch others to create camaraderie.

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