Construction has not historically been a business run by women.
Nellie Torres says that men still dominate the construction business, but women are more common than when she started in the industry over 20 years ago. Her company employs 17 full-time employees and tries to encourage female staffers to “climb the ladder”.
Nellie Torres is CEO of ProjectsSpan based in Brooklyn, New York started in 2003. Her company was featured in Inc. magazine in 2015 as one of the top women-owned businesses in New York City.
ProjectSpan provides support services for complex transit and airport infrastructure projects, including safety and quality management, specification and procurement, program management, construction management, installation support, and public safety.
Nellie is the 6th of seven kids of a Puerto Rican family. She grew up in a tough section of East NYC. She managed to work full-time, put herself through college and graduate school while raising her child. She says that it “was not easy getting here”. Building her construction business and breaking into the old boys’ network required her to have a “higher bar” just to compete.
In my view, I had to be better. I had to be earlier, I had to be on point. My numbers had to be perfect. Maybe not perfect all the time, but most of the time and definitely more than my male counterparts.
She feels her rough childhood toughened her to make her able to “break down walls” and get to “where I’m at” now.
There is major growth in women-run businesses. In the construction industry there have been a lack of role models and this industry lags behind. In New York City only 15% of construction businesses are run by women.
You have to be very, very, very tough – have very tough skin – and not be willing to take ‘no’ for an answer. You will hear ‘no’ a lot. You will hear ‘you can’t’ a lot. You will hear ‘you don’t belong here’. You just need to recognize that ‘yes, you do belong here’. You need to get educated. You need to get experience and you need to forge ahead.
Torres participates in a mentoring program for minority and female run businesses to help other entrepreneurs break into the construction field. The pay is 93.4% of what men make, if women can get into the career.
Reference:
Link to PBS story on Nellie Torres (transcript included)
NYC Women entrepreneurs article (March 2016)