Pomerleau employees feature in our Build like a Girl series
Culture
To celebrate International Women's Rights Day, we’re highlighting the essential role played by women in the construction industry, and their significant contribution to our teams.
An increase in the number of women in the construction industry is essential to building a healthier, more vibrant community. That's why Pomerleau makes it a point of honor to promote the presence of women in the industry. We firmly believe that by empowering them, the entire community benefits.
At Pomerleau, women account for 24% of our workforce, with 87 of them in management positions (21%). We're proud of this figure, but we're aiming to increase it further to achieve better representation of women.
Lauren Clack
Project Manager
Lauren Clack is a team player. Each day, she supervises her colleagues, encourages their personal development and inspires them to work in a spirit of unity to achieve common goals and carry out major projects. For her, the combination of everyone's skills is the real driving force behind collective success.
Construction is like a puzzle. You need a team to put it together. Each person is responsible for his or her own part. My role is to orchestrate the collaboration: Who will assemble the edges? Who will be in charge of the corners? Who will take care of the grass? Who will deal with the sky?
Strengthened by her experiences, which include both highs and lows, she finds great satisfaction today in guiding the younger generation, especially young women, to overcome their own challenges and spread their wings to achieve great things.
I often say to women: be authentic. Be strong. Don't let your voice be silenced. Stand up for yourself. There's never a wrong opinion, never a wrong answer. Be confident in what you do. Have confidence in yourself. This confidence will be reflected in your career and will grow naturally over time in your professional journey.
Lauren has always campaigned for women to have a voice in the industry. Sometimes feeling that they are not treated as equals, she firmly believes in the importance of joining forces, believing that together, women are stronger.
Mental health is also a priority for her. Lauren even devised a "mental health champion" initiative to be implemented within her work teams. Having been turned down by her previous employers for implementing this kind of practice, she was delighted to find that her manager at Pomerleau immediately seized the opportunity to make it a reality.
He quickly recognized its value and took the necessary steps to put everything in place. It gives me goosebumps to talk about it because I'm so excited that he sees the importance of it.
Alexandra Jacquet
Planning Director
Originally from France, Alexandra's interest in construction began with a passion for Europe's historic buildings. This motivated her to undertake university studies in construction. She soon found her calling in planning.
I love my role because in planning, you're really at the center of the worksite and all the teams. That means you have to communicate with everyone involved in a project, whether it's people in design, procurement or construction.
Once at Pomerleau, her rise was meteoric, landing her a management position in just two years, a role involving a totally new workload and responsibilities. She is grateful for the trust placed in her during this period, which enabled her to develop in her own way.
Alexandra values teamwork. For her, it's the team spirit that makes the planning department so strong. The people who make up her team motivate each other through their achievements and ambitions.
Although she acknowledges that there's still a long way to go in the construction sector, Alexandra is delighted with the gender equality she feels within her department
In my department, we've almost reached parity and it's not due to quotas. I didn't think: I want a woman or a man here. The people in the department are there solely because of their skills. It brings us such a richness that it’s not even a question.
Alexandra encourages women who would like to join the world of construction to dare to take this step, convinced that they will find their place.
Mina Farzadfar
Planning Coordinator
After accumulating five years of architecture experience in Iran, Mina chose to move to Quebec to undertake a Master's degree in Construction Engineering and Project Management at Concordia University. It was then that she seized the opportunity to do an internship with Pomerleau. Having heard a lot about the company, joining Pomerleau was a dream come true for her.
Mina was attracted by the organization's ambiance and the chance to work with excellent managers on major projects, which she found particularly compelling. This prompted her to complete four more internships at Pomerleau before finally landing a job in Alexandra Jacquet's team, where she now works as a planning coordinator.
She considers herself lucky to work alongside female managers whom she finds very inspiring, pointing out that it can sometimes be difficult for a woman to lead projects where most of the members are men.
At first, when people didn't participate in my meetings, I was disappointed. I asked my manager to accompany me to my meetings. I was able to observe her positive leadership style. She gave me tips on how to build friendly relationships with people and get them involved.
In her role, Mina welcomes the opportunity to work on a variety of projects and is determined to climb the ladder. As a young immigrant woman from a diverse ethnocultural background, she is motivated to get involved in welcoming new people from minority groups and helping them integrate fully into the Pomerleau teams.
When new women join our teams, I want to say to them: don't be afraid, especially here at Pomerleau. Everyone wants to hear what you have to say, so don't be afraid to ask questions and voice your opinions. Express yourself freely.
Sara Evely
Assistant Project Manager
As the first in her family to get a university degree, Sara didn't have any role models growing up who crossed gender role barriers. She attended a preparatory program in behavioural neuroscience, before eventually starting her career in engineering and construction. Originally from Newfoundland, Sara now works in Nova Scotia. She works on the site of a hospital complex in Cape Breton.
No one ever talked about construction as a potential career for me. Even when I talked to guidance counsellors at university, they tried to steer me away from it. It's unfortunate because it wasn't until I started the program that I realized how much I loved it and how accessible it was.
Sara fell in love with the construction industry when she saw how stimulating the environment was, with different challenges every day and a balance between on-site tasks and office work.
Although she is aware that there are still fewer women than men in construction, she highlights Pomerleau's initiatives to encourage more women to take an interest in careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In particular, she mentions a free eight-week training program, enabling women to familiarize themselves with the trades, convinced that such initiatives are the engines of change.
I notice that many people have outdated perceptions of the construction industry. They see it as a dirty, hostile and unwelcoming environment for women. But this is not the case. You only have to come and visit the construction sites, see all the technology Pomerleau offers and the forward-thinking way we use BIM, robots and everything else to see what an exciting field it is!
Josée Roy
Proposal Specialist
After more than 25 years' experience as an executive assistant in the construction industry, Josée embraced a new challenge when she arrived at Pomerleau. She had the opportunity to reconnect with her passion for writing and French when she was offered a position as a proposal writer. Although she had some initial misgivings, she decided to go for it.
I found it difficult at first. I felt a bit like an impostor. Eventually, one thing led to another and I began to master the subject. I was then promoted to proposal specialist. It's the best decision I've ever made in my career.
Josée was quickly won over by the work atmosphere at Pomerleau and the culture of respect between employees, which unfortunately she can't always take for granted as a woman in construction. She feels she really belongs on the team.
Recognition for our work is really important, and something I haven't always found elsewhere. At Pomerleau, I really feel that I'm loved and appreciated for what I'm worth. Being happy at work is priceless.
What excites Josée most about being a proposal specialist are the constant challenges of her job and the adrenalin generated by different projects. She rejects the preconceived notion that construction is reserved for men and feels that things are slowly starting to change in the sector.
It's such a fun world. Construction is fast-paced, not at all repetitive and full of challenges. It's an environment for women.
Roxanne Chagnon
Administrative Assistant
It's been a year since Roxanne joined Pomerleau as Administrative Assistant for the Innovation team, after working in construction for nearly six years. Having always hung out with "geeks", Roxanne is passionate about innovation, a core value at Pomerleau with which she particularly identifies. She's always one step ahead of the latest technological advances, aware of their great potential.
I think people sometimes think that being in the construction industry necessarily requires great physical strength, usually attributable to men. However, with the technologies and tools we're developing, increasingly, physical strength isn't necessarily required anymore.
Roxanne always gives her best in everything she does. She attributes her happiness at Pomerleau in large part to her team, the bond between her colleagues and the complementary skills and personalities that make it up.
I'm lucky enough to work with great colleagues, and I have tasks and responsibilities that I enjoy and that challenge me every day. At Pomerleau, I get to work with creative, forward-thinking people.
Roxanne hardly notices any imbalance between men and women in her day-to-day work within her department. She feels that diversity is alive and that she fits in as a woman. She notes that at Pomerleau, many high-level positions are held by women, and feels the positive impact this has on the teams daily.
I'm thinking in particular of Carolyne Fillion, who is one of the R&D managers in the Innovation group. She has this gentleness in her people-oriented leadership. She takes the temperature of her teams. It's women like that who have the power to inspire the future great thinkers of tomorrow.
Abigail MacEachern
Design Director
Having lived all over North America, Abigail now supervises teams in all of Canada's English-speaking provinces from the Halifax office. What she's most proud of at Pomerleau is the "incredible" team she can always count on.
She attributes her loyalty to Pomerleau over the past six years to her supportive team and her boss, whom she particularly appreciates. Indeed, the latter has been unfailingly supportive of her role within the organization. Abigail feels fulfilled in her current job. She does, however, mention that she has been confronted on several occasions in previous jobs with certain gender stereotypes, particularly those concerning women in the construction industry.
There are certainly prejudices that I've often had to deal with. I think it's pretty common that women have to work harder than man to achieve the same recognition.
Abigail says she often felt the need to reassure her former employers that she would not have any more children, and that her children would not affect her ability to travel and work late, evenings and weekends.
At Pomerleau, no one ever suggested to me that this was a problem. Of all the places I've worked, Pomerleau has been by far the best when it comes to equality for women. My experience has been phenomenal. Pomerleau is definitely ahead of its time.
Fortunately, Abigail can rely on her very assertive personality. Despite a few obstacles along the way, she's always managed to get a seat at the table, take an active part in meetings and get the recognition she deserves.
I think as a woman in this industry in a leadership position, we need to continue to be the voice for people who may not be able to be assertive enough.
At Pomerleau, we firmly believe that everyone should have an equal opportunity to succeed. Our employees are at the heart of our values, which is why we have always been committed to creating a work environment that enables all our team members, male or female, to reach their full potential. We strive to cultivate a respectful environment by integrating diversity, equity and inclusion as fundamental elements of all our practices and processes.
We aspire to continue and to multiply our initiatives aimed at promoting the advancement of women in the construction industry, to achieve parity. The whole community will benefit, strengthening our society as a whole.
To our women!
