At the Associated General Contractors of America 2019 National Convention, the association presented the winners of its second annual Diversity & Inclusion Excellence Awards. The Diversity & Inclusion Excellence Award for a mid-sized contractor went to Shoemaker Construction Co. in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

“These awards recognize firms that have established outstanding programs that have helped make the construction industry a more diverse, inclusive, and better sector in which to work,” said Eddie Stewart, AGC President. “By making our industry more diverse, we can solve a lot of our workforce challenges, and become a better, safer and stronger industry.”

Shoemaker’s focus on diversity reaches back to 2004 when it first entered into a joint venture agreement with Perryman Building Construction Services, Inc. In 2007, it added a separate joint venture agreement with Synterra, Ltd, and continues to work with both partners.

Additional examples of Shoemaker’s commitment to diversity and inclusion beyond the construction site include:

  • Mentoring Young Women in Construction (MyWIC) Philadelphia – a hands-on camp co-founded by Maura Hesdon as part of the National Association of Women in Construction which introduces school-aged girls to possible careers in the construction industry
  • On-site tours of current projects for K-12 students of low-income, minority schools
  • Job fairs which create direct access to Shoemaker projects for diverse businesses and city residents
  • Meetings with the business agents and apprenticeship coordinators of the Philadelphia Building Trades and Carpenters to help increase diversity in the construction work force

In addition to the efforts listed above, Shoemaker pays particular attention to projects located within the City of Philadelphia. On these projects, the project team and subcontractors engage with various community organizations to provide contracting and workforce opportunities to low income residents. This has proven successful, as several projects have achieved over 30% of the new hires being low income, local residents.

“Through these initiatives, we are confident that our company is helping pave the way for greater opportunities for the community within our industry and assure that our project teams truly represent the diversity found in Philadelphia,” said Maura Hesdon, General Manager for Shoemaker Construction Co.

Click below to see more photos from AGC’s 2019 National Convention:

 

Pictured Above: Maura Hesdon Accepts Award for Shoemaker Construction Co. (from left to right: Frank Wilson, Chair, AGC Diversity & Inclusion Council; Maura Hesdon, General Manager Shoemaker Construction Co.; Eddie Stewart, President, AGC of America; Kim Waller, Practice Leader-Diversity Solutions Network, Willis Towers Watson)