#Entrepreneurs — 21.06.2019

Asserting Yourself in a Man's World

#InspiringWomen

Learn more about Tina Woodside, a participant in the Women Entrepreneur Program, and her advice to women entrepreneurs.

Tina Woodside

President
Earth Basics Contracting

Connect : Linkedin


Although there are more and more women in the labour market, women are still in the minority in some industries. This is the case in the construction industry, where women employees make up 12.3% of the workforce in France[1], 9%[2] in the United States and only 3%[3] in Japan. However, the situation is improving. For instance, in the French entrepreneurial sphere, more than one construction company in two is managed or co-managed by a woman.[4] In predominantly male sectors, women entrepreneurs may have an even harder time being recognised and may suffer biases about their skills that could undermine their self-confidence. For these women, it can be a daily challenge to have their value and legitimacy as leaders recognised, to build a network and to dare to climb up the ranks.

Tina Woodside, a participant in the fourth edition of the Women Entrepreneur Program, can attest to this. Getting respect as a woman in the construction industry was the first challenge she faced at Earth Basics Contracting. She is now president and co-owner of this U.S.-based civil engineering company.

Asserting oneself in a male environment can be all the more daunting for women entrepreneurs who are on their own. At a time when, globally, only 54% of women say they have access to a mentor,[5] joining a network or program such as the Women Entrepreneur Program is a valuable resource.

"If there’s one piece of advice that I could give to other women, it is to believe in yourself. You have the power to do whatever it is you want to do. Go do it!”

For the fourth consecutive year, this program, in partnership with the Women Initiative Foundation, has provided about 40 women entrepreneurs from 14 countries with an international network and week of training at Stanford University. This is a unique opportunity for these women entrepreneurs to acquire new skills and engage in dialogue as a means of developing leadership skills, regardless of their industry.

[1] Source: “Le bâtiment se conjugue aussi au féminin”, Fédération Française du Bâtiment, March 2019. 

[2] Source: “Women in the Labor Force: A Databook”, Report 1065, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2018. 

[3] Source: https://www.rethinktokyo.com/2018/08/29/women-construction-industry-japan, 2018. 

[4] Source: “Le bâtiment se conjugue aussi au féminin”, Fédération Française du Bâtiment, March 2019. 

[5] Source: Leaders & Daughters, Cultivating the Next Generation, Egon Zehnder, 2017. Study conducted among 7,000 women from 7 countries (Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, UK and USA).

 

Tina Woodside ∨

For over 24 years Tina has served as President of Earth Basics Contracting, a General and Heavy Civil Engineering company that specializes in turn-key grading operations.  As a self-starter in business from a young age, Tina is a committed and passionate leader that has sought after almost every challenge imaginable. She has been an integral part of increasing the banking, bonding and financial structure of the business.  Her successes at Earth Basics has stemmed from the innovative, integrated and insightful core beliefs held.  She looks forward to growing the company while working in California and Texas and believes that communication is the key along the way.  Tina is finishing her BSA in Liberal Studies and will pursue her Masters soon after. She lives spending time with family, yoga, cooking, traveling to new territories and expanding her mind.

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