Women have been challenged with difficulties in the construction industry for a considerable time since men typically govern this sector. Despite this, some women have achieved success in this industry. Explore the transformative journeys of these remarkable women reshaping the construction sector.
(Photo : Pexels/ Mikael Blomkvist )
1. Ethel Charles
In 1898, Ethel Charles became the first woman to join the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), a tremendous accomplishment she achieved after a long and arduous battle to become a practicing architect. Charles and her sister, Bessie, were not permitted to attend the Architectural Association School when women were not afforded the same chances in the construction industry as men. Despite this, Ethel would not give up and eventually became an associate member of the RIBA after successfully passing her tests. She was compelled to concentrate on designing modest housing projects and residential structures for female clients as she encountered obstacles and struggled to secure commissions for more significant undertakings.
2. Sarah Guppy
Sarah Guppy, a significant figure in the construction industry, pioneered engineering and is credited with being the first woman to patent a bridge. In 1811, she obtained a patent for a novel method of building and raising railroads and bridges devoid of arches or sterling, thereby eliminating the risk of erosion by floods.
3. Emily Roebling
As one of the first known women in the construction industry, Emily Roebling paved the way for women to follow in all other building industry sub-industries. She stepped in as a representative of her husband's job as chief engineer to oversee the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1872 after her husband became unwell and fell ill. Accordingly, Roebling carried out the responsibilities of Chief Engineer, including learning about materials science, stress analysis, and cable performance, to act as project manager and construction supervisor for eleven years until the project was finally finished.
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4. Elsie Eaves
In 1927, Elsie Eaves made history by becoming the first woman to be accepted as a full member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Her idea to collect data to monitor and report on spending and trends inside building projects was the most significant contribution she made, despite the fact that she oversaw a large number of significant projects. Before there were even computers, she came up with the idea of databases, which had a considerable influence on the present-day management of residential and commercial construction projects.
5. Lady Elizabeth Wilbraham
Elizabeth, Lady Wilbraham, was the first recorded female architect to create her ideas. She lived from 1632 to 1705 and was responsible for designing magnificent homes for her extended family. As mentioned, Wilbraham potentially participated in the construction of hundreds of additional edifices for which she could not receive credit at the time, such as several London churches that are presently formerly ascribed to the renowned architect Christopher Wren.
6. Louise Blanchard Bethune
Architect Louise Blanchard Bethune was the first woman in the United States to work in the field of architecture professionally. In 1876, she started her apprenticeship by working as a draftsman (draftswoman) for the architectural office of Richard A. Waite in Buffalo, New York. Her company, which specialized in Romanesque Revival design, was established in 1881. Together with her colleague, Robert A. Bethune, her firm was responsible for the design of hundreds of structures throughout the state of New York. Some of the most prominent buildings are the Buffalo Public Schools, the 74th Regiment Armory, Lockport High School, the East Buffalo LiveStock Exchange, and the Hotel Lafayette.
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