While many of Danna Betancourt’s friends sit in college classrooms, she’s working full time as an HVAC technician for M. Davis & Sons. Some of her friends live in dorms; she owns a home. They might have no idea what the future holds, but Betancourt plans to add plumbing to her toolbelt—a skill that co-worker Selena Pabon has mastered.
The Delcastle Technical High School graduates represent just 4% of women nationwide in skilled trades. Although the number of women in the nation’s construction sector is rising, there’s room for improvement—women make up just 11% of the industry overall.
Pabon and Betancourt have impressive role models. Take, for instance, Peggy Davis Del Fabbro, the CEO of M. Davis & Sons, which her great-great-great-grandfather founded in 1870. “Women are showing us what they can do,” Del Fabbro says.
Opportunities abound. In 2022, 55% of Delaware’s construction contractors had difficulty finding skilled workers, and the construction industry offers a wide range of jobs in the field and office.
All in the Family
Del Fabbro, who joined the company in 1987, is one of many women who followed in relatives’ footsteps. “I used to go out to job sites with my dad quite a bit when I was young,” she recalls. “And in junior high school, I answered the phones and then did bookkeeping.” She worked in accounting for another firm before joining the family business.
Cassidy McDaniel and her cousin Kelsey Hamilton own Boardwalk Builders in Rehoboth Beach, which was started by Cassidy’s mother, Patty McDaniel. Moreover, their grandfather owned a large commercial plumbing and heating business. “Our moms, aunts, and uncles grew up working in the business,” says Cassidy McDaniel, the general manager. “One of our aunts is a female plumber. We’ve been afforded a unique perspective.”
Laura Massimini’s parents, Steve and Debbie Dignan, purchased Nickle Electrical Company in 1991. She joined in 2013 and is now the director of marketing. “When I first started, we didn’t have any women in the field,” recalls Massimini, president of the National Association of Women in Construction’s Wilmington chapter. “Right now, we have two wonderful young, very knowledgeable women.”
Marriage led Nicole Ashton to a career in construction. When she wed Joe Ashton, she was an in-demand event planner in coastal Sussex County, a job requiring long, grueling hours. Ashton Pools by Design was rapidly growing, and Joe needed a sales and marketing representative. He told her: “Do your own thing, but I’m going to hire someone who will get paid more than you do now for what you could do.” It was a no-brainer, she notes.
Taking Chances
Marriage and partnerships don’t always mix, and Lorri Grayson was initially reluctant when her husband, Dave, suggested opening GGA Construction in Middletown. It was never about gender; Grayson was accustomed to being the only woman in the room, first in her high school mechanical drawing class and then in her civil engineering classes at Virginia Tech. After graduating, Grayson joined the DuPont Co., where she and 70 men made up the construction department.
Grayson was more skittish about partnerships. She’d left one that didn’t work out, and Dave had also had an unsatisfying partnership. However, in 2004, they gave it a go, hoping to make $5 million in sales. Last year, the company—specializing in commercial and medical buildings and hotels—made more than $100 million.
While Grayson has a degree, the construction industry is still a sector where people can forge a career path without one, she notes. Just ask Debra Finocchiaro, who was 19 when she joined Kraft Can Do It, a Wilmington construction firm. “I thought of going to law school,” she recalls, “but I thought I’d take the job and see where it led.”
Finocchiaro went from answering phones to handling estimates and managing projects. She studied project management at Delaware Technical Community College but didn’t finish. There was more benefit to hands-on field experience, and her mentors were instructors. Finocchiaro is now senior vice president of construction at Leon N. Weiner & Associates, a Wilmington homebuilder and developer specializing in affordable homes. She also sits on the board of the Home Builders Association of Delaware.
Similarly, Christina MacMillan joined M. Davis’ accounting department when she dropped out of college. Twenty-six years later, MacMillan is vice president of strategic development. She earned a degree in marketing and business at Goldey-Beacom College at night. “I really like the company and the people, so I stayed,” she says.
Like MacMillan, most women would not remain in construction unless it was rewarding. That’s true for Stephanie Boright. However, for most of her professional career, Boright built award-winning TV or movie productions, not houses. While earning praise for work on “The West Wing” and “Homeland,” she and her husband, Barry, tackled home-improvement projects. For instance, they renovated the 15 Baltimore row homes they bought as investments, five D.C.-area homes, and multiple beach properties.
In 2010, the couple moved to the beach full time, and five years later, she tapped her natural aptitude to open Coastal Cottage Renovations, which recently built a home from the ground up.
Overcoming Obstacles
The bubbly Boright doesn’t face much pushback regarding her gender. If anything, her contractors find her amiable, non-nonsense approach refreshing. She does not quibble over price, for instance. However, male clients sometimes are intimidated by her enthusiasm and creative ideas, while women are excited to envision the possibilities. She’s learned to read the room to make everyone comfortable. “People want to know that you hear them,” she says.
Ashton says most clients don’t balk when they learn they are working with a woman on their pool projects. Many people at the beach have relocated from cosmopolitan areas and working with a woman doesn’t faze them. But some good old contractors still ask to talk to the “boss.” “You’re talking to one of them,” she replies. If they leave sales materials for him without addressing her, the papers go in the trash.
The younger generation generally feels that gender isn’t a barrier to success. “I’ve been in this role for probably eight years, and people from the get-go said they were glad to hear we are women-owned,” says Hamilton of Boardwalk Builders. She and McDaniel are both in their 30s and are more likely to be stereotyped for their age than their gender. Still, a contractor in the field occasionally mistakes Hamilton for a homeowner, not a project manager.
In the field, Betancourt says some male peers think women are emotionally fragile. “They feel they have to watch what they say or they’ll hurt our feelings,” she explains. “But we’re just there to work.”
As for physical capability, the women do the same tasks as men, and safety regulations mean no worker will engage in an activity that might lead to injury. Selena Pabon had a baby and came right back to her plumbing job. “Everyone was excited to have me back, and I was excited to come back,” she says.
Youth Outreach
Pabon got into plumbing because she likes to work with her hands; she won’t stop working on a project until it’s done, which once led to a late night with uncooperative Christmas tree bulbs. She wasn’t “feeling” college, she says. “Journeyperson’s papers are just as valuable as a four-year degree, and in some cases, more valuable,” Del Fabbro maintains.
The CEO of M. Davis says outreach efforts should start in middle school so students can enter vo-tech programs that are conduits for new hires. Massimini regularly speaks to female students and encourages them to take classes, even if the class is primarily male. “Just because we might be in the minority of this industry doesn’t mean we don’t belong,” she says. “The best way to prove you belong is to do your job and do it well.”
Del Fabbro would agree. “My team is open to anyone who wants to learn and work hard,” she says. “These girls are killing it. They ask a lot of questions; they are good at multitasking, and they have enthusiasm for what they do.”
Finocchiaro encourages women in construction to feel confident, build relationships, and learn the trade. “Seek mentorship with others within the industry and learn to speak up and speak out: Share your ideas while learning the art of active listening,” she says. “The construction industry can be tough in many aspects, so you need to be ready for it.”
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