Women at work on construction of Protective Stadium

Construction workers in safety gear, including women at work, attending a meeting at a Protective Stadium construction site.

Construction on Protective Stadium is progressing on schedule, slated for completion in time for the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s (UAB) fall 2021 football season. With oversight by the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC), this highly complex construction project calls on the expertise of architects, engineers, designers, project managers, suppliers, and trade professionals of many disciplines. As the construction industry marks Women in Construction Week March 7^th through 13^th, the BJCC spotlights the women working on the Protective Stadium project.

According to the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), the focus of Women in Construction Week is to highlight women as a viable component of the construction industry. Women in Construction Week also provides an occasion for NAWIC’s thousands of members across the country to raise awareness of the opportunities available for women in the construction industry and to emphasize the growing role of women in the industry.

Brasfield & Gorrie serves as the general contractor on Protective Stadium’s construction. Women of all ages and stages of their careers are contributing to all aspects of the Protective Stadium project, including members of the Brasfield & Gorrie team, trade contractors, and architect and engineering partners. The Brasfield & Gorrie team includes strong female representation at various levels, from one of the project managers, Virnetta Woodbury, on through to assistant project managers, field engineers and co-ops.

“It’s empowering to look around and see so many women in every aspect of this project,” said Brasfield & Gorrie Project Manager Virnetta Woodbury, who is a NAWIC Greater Birmingham board member and past president. As a project manager, Woodbury contributes to the project’s planning and management and coordinates with trade contractors. “Having that kind of representation throughout so many skill sets is rare, but we’re seeing that more and more.”

Learn more in a press release from the BJCC.