ACE Mentor Program Named CREW Philadelphia 2018 Philanthropic Partner
The Greater Philadelphia affiliate of the national ACE Mentor Program has been named the CREW Philadelphia 2018 Philanthropic Partner. Through the partnership, ACE will be the beneficiary of $20,000 in CREW monetary donations and will have the opportunity to build relationships and partnerships through CREW’s signature philanthropic event – the 20th Annual Fall Charitable Lunch.
Building Futures will follow the ACE Mentor Program model and engage, excite, and enlighten female high school students to pursue careers in the ACE (architecture, construction, and engineering) fields through an innovative all-women mentoring team approach.
ACE Greater Philadelphia will engage a diverse group of young women in learning and getting excited about the design and construction industry through the Building Futures | Women in Design and Construction Pipeline Project.
Women and people of color are grossly underrepresented in the fields of design and construction. According to the 2018 Pew Research Center Survey, women make up half (50%) of all U.S. workers in STEM occupations, though their presence varies widely across occupational clusters and educational levels. Women account for the majority of healthcare practitioners and technicians but are underrepresented in several other STEM occupational clusters, particularly in computer jobs and engineering. African American and Hispanic workers continue to be underrepresented in the STEM workforce. African Americans make up 11% of the U.S. workforce overall but represent 9% of STEM workers, while Hispanics comprise 16% of the U.S. workforce but only 7% of all STEM workers. And among employed adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher, African Americans are just 7% and Hispanics are 6% of the STEM workforce.
Women in Design and Construction Pipeline Project (Building Futures) will engage, excite, and enlighten high school girls to pursue careers in the ACE fields through an innovative all women mentoring team approach. This project will provide professional engagement to a group of high school-aged young ladies potentially interested in pursuing a career in the design and construction industry by connecting them to 8-10 female mentors in a team environment.
These mentor meetings will take place bi-weekly after school for 2 hours. Participants and their mentors will work together over the course of 15 sessions (min) to conceive and execute a hands-on, real-world design project, visit actual construction sites, and conduct job shadowing activities at a variety of offices/firms. This project will take place from November 2018 – May 2019.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE ABOUT THE 2016 CREW PARTNERSHIP!
Students in the 2016-2017 program completed a self-assessment before and after their ACE experience.
The development of an all-female team and utilizing female mentors represents a concerted effort to change this trend, and to encourage young women to pursue their interests in A/C/E despite any societal pressures working against them. Girls prioritized future-focused things like getting a scholarship over the social benefits of the ACE program. After completing the program, however, they seemed to appreciate the social element more, and their confidence in skills and interests increased dramatically.
- CAN CREATE MANY SOLUTIONS TO SINGLE PROBLEM | 4% vs. 100%
- GOOD WORKING ON TEAMS TO ACCOMPLISH A TASK | 2% vs. 100%
- GOOD COMMUNICATING IN SMALL GROUPS | 60% vs. 100%
About CREW Philadelphia
CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Philadelphia is the industry’s premier business networking organization dedicated to supporting the achievements of women in commercial real estate. Its more than 170 local members and 10,000 national members are engaged in all facets of commercial real estate. For information, visit. http://www.crewphiladelphia.org.
