Canadian Association of Women in Construction Announces
Official Launch Association Established to Identify
Opportunities and Facilitate Long-Term Success of Women in
Canada_s $123 Billion Construction Industry
Press Release...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Toronto,
ON- The Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of
Women in Construction (CAWIC) are pleased to announce the
association's official launch. CAWIC was founded 23 years
ago by a group of Toronto-area professional women working in
the construction industry. Originally the Toronto Chapter
295 of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC),
CAWIC recently separated from its U.S. based parent
organization. CAWIC will continue to maintain its ties with
NAWIC and will also establish unilateral and multilateral
relationships with similar associations in the United
Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand through the
signing of International Affiliations.
CAWIC will commemorate its official launch with a cocktail
reception that will take place on Tuesday, April 25, 2006,
starting at 5:30 PM EST. The reception will be held in
downtown Toronto, ON, at the TD Waterhouse Tower, 79
Wellington Street West, 16th Floor. Members of the media are
encouraged to attend. Angela Wilson, CAWIC President as well
as members of the Board of Directors will be available for
interviews.
The construction industry in Canada represents significant
career and business opportunities for women in a variety of
trade, technical and professional fields. According to the
Canadian Construction Association, the construction industry
employs close to 1 million Canadian men and women and is
responsible for about $123 billion in economic activity
annually. The construction industry accounts for
approximately 12 percent of Canada's total gross domestic
product (GDP).
Our mandate is to facilitate the long-term success of women
in the Canadian construction industry by identifying career
and business opportunities, organizing networking events,
developing mentoring programs and reaching out to elementary
and high-school students, comments Angela Wilson, CAWIC's
inaugural President. CAWIC will work closely with industry,
government and other associations to represent the concerns
of our members and eliminate existing and potential
barriers. We want women to not only consider the
construction industry, but to make it a career choice and
stay in it.
Governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, CAWIC's
activities will also include industry research and
information sharing, organizing educational seminars and
career days, fundraising for bursaries and community
outreach programs.
CAWIC's membership base consists of individuals and
companies engaged in construction and related fields. These
include general and specialty contractors, architectural and
engineering firms, building product manufacturers and
distributors, real estate professionals, interior designers,
trade associations, law firms and other professional service
providers. CAWIC's membership also represents a diverse
spectrum of skilled and professional occupations within the
industry. Individual members include tradeswomen,
architects, business owners and senior executives,
estimators, lawyers, professional engineers and
technologists, project managers, real estate agents, sales
and marketing professionals, students as well as HR,
accounting and other support functions. CAWIC has introduced
an Associate Member category to accommodate the growing
interest of individuals and companies that provide the
construction industry with goods and professional services.
About CAWIC:
The Canadian Association of Women in Construction (CAWIC)
was incorporated in October 2005. The origins of CAWIC date
back approximately 23 years when a group of Toronto area
professional women working in construction formed the
Toronto Chapter 295 of the National Association of Women in
Construction (NAWIC). CAWIC_s mandate is to facilitate the
long-term success of women in Canada_s construction-related
fields. These include contracting, architecture,
engineering, interior design, building products and
professional services. CAWIC is governed by a volunteer
Board of Directors and is funded through membership fees,
fundraising events and Corporate Sponsorships. CAWIC_s
founding corporate sponsors include Cadillac Fairview
Corporation, Cloke-Kirby Construction, Dufferin Construction
Company, Lynx Cabling, the Ontario General Contractors
Association and Stephenson Rental. For more information
about CAWIC, please contacts the media contacts below or
visit www.cawic.ca.
NAWIC:
The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC)
was founded in 1953 by sixteen Texas-based women working in
the construction industry. Originally called Women in
Construction of Fort Worth, the founders recognized early on
that women represented only a small fraction of the U.S.
construction industry. This lead to the formation of NAWIC,
which gained it national charter in 1955. NAWIC's core
purpose is to enhance the success of all women in the
construction industry, from trades women to business owners.
With almost 900,000 women working in construction today, the
industry is becoming more accepting of their non-traditional
roles. Today, NAWIC has a membership of 5,500 with 179
chapters across the United States. Since 1996, NAWIC has
seen its core purpose grow internationally, with the signing
of International Affiliation Agreements with NAWIC-Australia,
NAWIC-New Zealand, South African Women in Construction, and
most recently with NAWIC-United Kingdom and CAWIC. For more
information, please visit www.nawic.org.
Contact
Press Centre: presscentre@aecce.ca |
