Women in design conference speakers announced

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A/E industry female leaders are lined up to speak at ZweigWhite’s first ever Women in Design and Environment Professions conference, May 9 and 10 in Boston.

The roster includes Diane Landers, vice president and chief marketing officer at GAI Consultants, Inc., Gerri King, social psychologist and organizational consultant, president of Human Dynamics Associates, Inc., and Karen Purcell, owner and founder PK Electrical.

While women are soon projected to account for 51 percent of total labor force growth, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, they make up less than one-quarter of the architecture workforce, 9.7 percent of the civil engineering profession, and roughly 13 percent of other engineering professions.

The Women in Design and Environment Professions conference tackles some of issues that relate to women in the male-dominated design and environmental professions.

For example, Purcell will discuss “Smart Strategies for Women to Thrive in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.” The session is designed to help women understand better and overcome the social and psychological hurdles commonly experienced in male-dominated STEM fields, such as pressure intimidation, fear, and stress, to name a few. The presentation will also provide strategies to overcome obstacles common in STEM.

King will present a talk titled, “Women In High Places: The Fear of Success.” This presentation will provide attendants with an understanding of success-sabotage and present a better perspective on how to deal with it, as well as how to support and supervise those who exhibit avoidance behavior.

Landers will give a talk on, “Strong but not Strident: Verbal and Non-verbal Communication.” The presentation will help attendants identify communication traits unaware to them that might be preventing them from achieving their goals. Landers will show how to develop the skills to be assertive without being the “B-word!”

The presentation schedule will be available soon at https://zweiggroup.com/events-directory/.

The program is being organized by Claire Keerl, principal and director of corporate marketing and Christine Brack, principal and director of consulting, both with ZweigWhite. The multi-day event will include roundtable discussions, focus groups, networking sessions, as well as keynote presentations by industry leaders.

Additional issues that will be covered include:

• Work/life balance
• Women as bosses
• Mentoring women in design, engineering, and environmental consulting
• Encouraging women to enter the profession
• Physical presence (how this impacts coworkers and clients)
• Career paths for women
• Women and the path to principal
• The age factor
• Alternative careers for women in design and environmental professions
• WBE status

For more information about this upcoming conference email Claire Keerl ckeerl@zweigwhite.com or log on to https://zweiggroup.com/events-directory/.