As construction technology expands its offerings, capabilities and reach, so too does the contech industry. Construction Executive discusses this global market sector with Catie Williams, vice president of product development at InEight, a construction management software provider, who offers insights on diversity strategy, recruitment efforts and potential for growth.
What brought you to the construction and technology sector?
I started at Kiewit in 2008, so I’ve been in the construction and engineering industry for almost 15 years. I was really interested in Kiewit as a company because of their reputation within the community. I grew up pretty poor and didn’t live in a very good neighborhood. There wasn’t a lot of opportunity. I knew of Kiewit because of the local scholarships they provided and knew I wanted to work there, but I had no idea in what capacity. Very few people I went to school with went to college, and in college there were even fewer women in the IT program.
I was interested in the impact that the construction industry has on the community, just building and how that provides for people. I can see a lot of parallels in the software industry; while not something you can physically touch per se, it should help and make people’s lives better.
In 2010, I got the opportunity to lead the effort to centralize our data and provide reporting for folks in the field. When InEight was formed as a subsidiary of Kiewit, I was asked to come over and lead our analytics and data products and have been doing that for approximately five years.
What has made you stay in this field?
In terms of what makes me stay, particularly as a woman, I feel very passionately that there is so much opportunity for women in the industry. Sure, there will be times you’re going to hear stories about women getting passed over for promotions, or that men get better pay. But I think those things are ripe and ready for change and there is an overall interest in recruiting and encouraging more women in STEM fields. I do think there need to be more advocates and representation.
I’ve never felt that being a woman has prevented me from an opportunity in this sector, if you’re speaking up, raising your hand and willing to take on the opportunity. I think we have to find ways to increase confidence in women earlier, so they realize their opinions and perspectives are desired and badly needed. Where I am today in terms of confidence compared to when I first started is a night-and-day difference—there should be efforts to accelerate that timeline in terms of training, mentoring and sponsorship. Having a strong female mentor was a game changer for my career.
How do you feel about the term “diversity of thought,” and do you think it’s an important factor in business development?
Diversity of thought is actually a very problematic phrase for me, personally. I don’t think diversity of thought is necessarily the right strategy, assuming that we’re talking about the definition where you don’t actually need the representation in order to think of and consider people in differing genders, races or cultures when it comes to decision making. I don’t buy into that. I think it falls short of putting in the work to get the feedback from a diverse background of people and having the tough conversations. Perception is a person’s reality, whether we like it or not, and getting that perception firsthand is important. When something doesn’t impact you directly, it doesn’t even hit your radar of thought—which is why I struggle with the concept.
You also need representation because if you don’t see people that look like you, you won’t necessarily see the opportunity is possible, and we all have an unconscious bias to overcome. It’s not necessarily intentional, but if you don’t invite people to the table to provide their feedback because you assume you understand their perspective and can represent them, that’s troubling.
At InEight, we just changed the maternity leave policy, and I felt fortunate that I was asked what my thoughts were. I have two kids, and if someone had made that decision without asking a woman that has been on maternity leave, I am not sure how you can feel confident that you addressed the real needs. The same goes for wider IDE efforts; there needs to be that representation. Break past status quo audiences and open the floor to more diverse attendance and discussion to determine initiatives.
There is gender disparity in both the tech world and the construction world. Where does the sector currently sit when it comes to diversity, and where are things going? How is contech looking to implement more IDE strategies and become more inclusive?
From the construction industry perspective, there are a lot of initiatives happening at organizations to help us encourage underrepresented areas, such as those who are less well-off economically, as well as women of color and young girls. That’s definitely the demographic that is not represented enough in construction, and specifically in leadership roles. So, I think it’s really positive to see the industry recognizing that more needs to be done to change this.
Look at the labor shortage, for example. Women represent more than half the population at this point. There is a solution to the staffing problem. It’s really tapping into the fact that there’s a huge able-bodied workforce and you should find creative ways to show them that a career and all the things they want to achieve are possible. A key way to solve this is through sponsorship and making sure that women feel supported.
Women in the industry is just one example; people of color—specifically in STEM—are also very underrepresented. I think creating ways to create those introductions and those opportunities is really important.
How have you been working to increase diversity efforts within construction?
I’ve been partnering with local high schools in similar neighborhoods to where I grew up to identify students that are interested in the IT and software industry. We’re currently piloting a program that I spearheaded in which high-school graduates work for us while they attend college (if they choose), and we teach and train them in software development, DevOPS and other IT-related fields. It provides an opportunity for them to gain real-world experience while furthering their education and have marketable skills at the end of the program. The idea is to get them interested in STEM earlier by having a very hands-on experience versus waiting until they are graduating college.
People talk a lot about targeting girls at the middle-school level. Do you think that’s the best practice moving forward?
Looking at it from a problem-solving perspective, I think it starts even earlier. In elementary school, you start being exposed to STEM fields. There are a lot more clubs and groups available now, increasing interest in STEM, and we should be targeting more groups like that for girls. There should be earlier intervention and resources available as well for those struggling in these areas.
I remember hearing in elementary school that girls weren’t as good at math as boys, and it was said in a way to lower my expectations of myself—like “don’t feel bad, you aren’t supposed to be good at it.” I don’t think this is the narrative anymore, thankfully—and a focus on the individual and the individual’s strengths rather than their gender’s stereotypical strengths seems to be gaining momentum.
What do you see as an area of growth for the contech sector?
There is a lot of room for growth in this sector. There are huge opportunities for more industry standards and the sharing of information across the industry as well. I think we are just starting to tap into the power of good-quality data and how it can drive decision making and efficiencies.
This has also created new challenges, because construction can be disconnected and remote in terms of day-to-day operations, so managing change when your workforce is physically all over and needs to be focused on doing work safely, on time and under budget is hard and requires support to capitalize on efficiencies gained from having standard business processes and connected systems. There are also a lot of emerging technologies coming on the scene that should help eliminate some manual work and possibly create ways to complete work without putting employees at risk. There is certainly a lot of potential to impact the industry, which I feel passionate about being a part of.
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part is solving problems. I like the ability to take something that someone didn’t think was possible and do it.
I am a data person, so I love to visualize information and see the way it changes and drives conversations. It’s visible and something I can look at, so it feels tangible to me, which I am sure is similar for someone out on the job physically building work. Every time I talk to folks on projects about what is the most rewarding part, they say, “Don’t you just love driving in town and knowing you built that building?” It feels like that when you build a product. Even though it’s just on a computer, it’s a very fulfilling thing to be able to say, “Look at what I did.”
