CIMS Supports Canadian Construction Women’s Fall Mentorship Roundtable
At CIMS we support a fair and equitable workplace culture where every colleague feels valued, respected, welcomed, and treated fairly. As part of our commitment to this our company has invested and supports our people and organizations that champion diversity, every day of the year.
CIMS was very proud to be one of three event sponsors for the Canadian Construction Women‘s Fall Mentorship Roundtable event that took place Thursday September 22 in downtown Vancouver. Our very own Jessica Friday-Conroy, HR Manager was a guest speaker and Shelly Bidlock, VP, Health & Safety, who sits as on the Board of Directors for CCW and is responsible for all of their mentorship events.
We asked Shelly what exactly her role as Director of Community with the CCW entailed and what it means to her, she replied.
In March of 2022, I joined the Canadian Construction Women organization as the Director of Community and I absolutely love this role! For me, it means bringing women together to support each other thus forming a sense of community with each other. It also means building meaning connections with the communities we live and work in to further establish that sense of belonging for women in construction and to lend a helping hand to the women in our community that my not have access to role models.
CIMS Senior leadership encouraged Shelly to take on this visible role in our industry that supports women. While this role was new to Shelly and CIMS, so far, the result has been an amazing comradeship for the women of CIMS who have excitedly participated.
Joining Jessica and Shelly from CIMS at this event was Amber Haleta Warehouse Breathing Air Assistant & JOHSC committee member, and Kate Marotto, Accounts Payable Manager.
Each company sponsor of this event was invited to have a representative speak briefly about their company and their role in construction. Jessica spoke about the services CIMS LP provides, our connection with the trades/ unions and some of our recent achievements.
For the main event, The CCW Fall Mentorship included 7 mentors to speak about their personal journey working in the construction industry, discussing some of the challenges working in the industry and advise to others on how we dealt with them. The mentors were a diverse group of women that included Director of Construction, VP of accounts, Assistant Business Manager for Electrical Union, HR, Director of BC Building Trades Labour Relations, and H&S for BC Hydro. Jessica got to speak about her earlier days working as Project Admin / Coordinator with CIMS and some of the challenges working on site as one of the handful of women on location. At the time she had a difficult time dealing directly with those challenges, but now with some more years of experience and in her current role of HR Manager, she feels better equipped to help other women dealing with similar issues today.
From its humble beginnings in 1991, CIMS has focused on growing a culture that consists of a community of leaders & innovators, and provide a workplace that is diverse, inclusive and equitable for all. Through initiatives such as our Accessibility Policy and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee, CIMS strives to lead by example throughout the industrial & construction industry in North America.