Go Build Alabama's Bri Conner recruits women to construction: 'We need more women to help build Alabama'

(Go Build Alabama, YH) Only 11% of the construction industry is made up of women — and just 18% in Alabama. At a tech school in Hollywood, Alabama, Bri Conner saw opportunity instead. “Oh, I can totally do this,” she thought. Bri Conner, a contracting supervisor for Lambert Contracting and ambassador for Go Build Alabama, goes by the social media handle “shes_da_bosss,” which in the construction world, she really is. As a contracting supervisor, Conner manages six people on her team, plus another 10 subcontractors. She oversees daily operations, keeps projects on schedule and keeps people in line, most of them being men — something Conner says took time to navigate early in her career. “You do have to prove yourself more, being a woman,” Conner said, “to the men to show that like, hey, I can do your job and I can do it better than you. And then they get the respect for you.”  National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) is celebrating women in construction this week, highlighting the impact women have on the construction industry. The celebratory week will connect women in construction across the country, sparking conversations about how they can succeed in the industry. Conner said starting out in the male-dominated field wasn’t always easy, once joking on social media that she hoped her pink hard hat might keep people from calling her “sir.” Conner says the more time she’s put into it, the more respect she’s earned — and she’s recruiting other women to join her....