Hundreds of women play critical roles in city infrastructure projects
SAN DIEGO – This week, March 3 to 9, is Women in Construction (WIC) Week and the City of San Diego is joining cities across the country in recognizing the women who dedicate their careers to building better communities.
WIC Week began in 1998 by the National Association of Women in Construction as a way to celebrate and promote the role of women in the construction industry, where they are currently a minority. The annual celebration takes place during the first full week of March. March is also Women’s History Month.
This year’s theme, “Keys to the Future,” celebrates the strength and knowledge of women and the vital role they play in shaping the future of the construction industry.
The city’s Engineering and Capital Projects (E&CP) Department, which brings all Capital Improvements Program (CIP) projects from initiation to completion, has 238 women supporting infrastructure throughout San Diego. These women work behind the scenes designing projects, overseeing construction sites, performing surveys and conducting quality assurance tests to meet city standards. They lead teams responsible for designing and building a variety of city assets, including the West Mission Bay Drive Bridge Project, the Pacific Highlands Ranch Library Project and the Ocean Beach Pier Renewal Project, as well as resurfacing dozens of miles of city streets each year.
“The construction industry continues to evolve and part of that is the significant increase in talented women feeling empowered to join the field,” said City Engineer Rania Amen, Director of the Engineering and Capital Projects Department. “I am proud to lead a department that promotes diversity and inclusion and features women engineering some of the most critical pieces of infrastructure for San Diegans.”
To help give a voice to women working in the construction field, staff from E&CP formed the Women in Field Construction Committee in January 2022. This employee-led group has more than 60 members and establishes camaraderie among women in construction, offers tools to help participants navigate the construction industry and provides an inspiring space for women to learn and grow in their field.
As one of the largest employers in the region, the City of San Diego has hundreds of employees in the construction industry and is recruiting for a variety of positions in the field.
For more information on CIP projects, visit the CIP website (https://www.sandiego.gov/cip/about) or search for projects throughout the city using the CIP project map viewer (https://webmaps.sandiego.gov/cippublic/).
(City of San Diego Release) n
