Celebrating Women In Construction At Johns Manville

The first full week in March is dedicated to women in construction. The theme for this year’s Women in Construction Week is “Keys to the Future'' which acknowledges the vital role women play in the innovation and progression of the construction industry moving forward into the future.

Inspiring the Next Generation of Women

At Johns Manville, we highly value all the women in our organization and are dedicated to inspiring the next generation of women employees. Each year, Johns Manville employees, including members of WIN@JM, our employee resource group that supports women in the workplace, participate in the Transportation & Construction GIRL event organized by the HOYA Foundation.

Transportation & Construction GIRL is a community-wide event in Golden, Colorado, designed to highlight jobs in the construction industry. Its purpose is to show girls the types of well-paying jobs available, expose them to these jobs firsthand, and inspire them to consider a career that may be seen as unattainable or untraditional for women.

Last year, the Johns Manville booth was hosted by 14 volunteers and an additional 19 company volunteers helped to run the event. The Johns Manville exhibit demonstrated the key tasks associated with the job of an Energy Rater or Energy Auditor. Company volunteers also demonstrated a FLIR gun which records heat loss from a structure, demonstrating the effectiveness of insulation. More than 1,400 girls registered for the 2023 TCG event.

John Manville’s goal in supporting these kinds of events is to positively impact equality in the workplace and inspire women toward careers in manufacturing and building products-related industries. Employees will return to partner with TCG again for this year’s event.

Celebrating Women at Johns Manville

WIN@JM celebrates more than two dozen female inventors who hold patents at Johns Manville, several of whom hold more than one. Among the women recognized were Urna Lester, who holds 18 patents, including an award-winning Formaldehyde-free, fiberglass binder, and Zeb Sukle who has 11 patents for inventions related to roofing materials. This number is truly noteworthy and reflects the substantial contributions of women to innovation.?

WIN@JM also regularly publishes interviews featuring women employees across the company. Explore their stories and discover how their contributions make a difference at JM:

• Interview with Erica Kemp, Production Superintendent for Engineered Products
• Interview with Steffi Schuster, Logistics Manager for Engineered Products
• Interview with Nicole Miller, Mechanical Product Manager for Insulation Systems
• Interview with Chanel Charbonneau, Product Engineer for Insulation Systems
• Interview with Shelby Dewhurst, Bituminous Product Engineer for Roofing Systems

Looking Forward

By tapping into the wealth of talent offered by all generations of Women in Construction, our work culture, our products, and our entire world is strengthened. Now more than ever it is critical to support and empower women, ensuring they have equal opportunities to thrive and lead within all areas of the industry.