Red Steel-Toed Cowboy Boots

As a woman, I had the interesting fortune of working in the construction industry. At one point I led a large development project - one of two women in a cast of twenty plus people in the core team. As the leader I worked in different settings - at times in conference rooms in the company of tie wearing professionals all with multiple degrees and designations after their name. Other times I walked the dusty, noisy site in my red steel toed cowboy boots or drank thick, black 'coffee' in the well worn ATCO trailer while sorting out plumbing details with a subcontractor.

'How do you manage as a thirty something female?' was the question people would ask me. With the design team there is an air of civility - no one would openly challenged leadership. That's not how it works.

Not so on site.

Part way through the project we replaced our site supervisor - the person who runs the day-to-day construction operations. Supers are god - they rule the site, often with an iron hand. Initially the contractor forbade me from meeting him. He had to be prepared for our meeting. Finally, when it was deemed acceptable I met Gerry - 5'3", with a slight build, starring at me from under his personalized silver hard hat. His first words to me - 'I like tall women'.

'Okay', I thought. 'I now know why the meeting was postponed'. I am being tested, and maybe harassed. Not the interaction I expected in the design team, and one I had not yet encountered on site. What to do? I decide to go with it and see what happens. It let it roll off my back and I ask him how his first week on site has been.

Later I wondered - was that the wrong decision? Was I setting myself up for some more testing?

In retrospect it was a good decision. I passed the test by not playing the game - by not taking the bait. As we worked together Gerry and I came to have deep respect for one another. He ran the site like a tight ship and I appreciated and acknowledged him for that. Likewise, I kept the political forces at bay so he could do his job.

And then there were times where we had to work together. Then I listened. I wanted his opinion on the options and the risk/rewards. I think because of that the tensions the contractor feared did not come to pass. In the end we were a good team - we learned to respect each other and what we each brought to the table. And I can truthfully say 'I like short supers'.