Happy International Women’s Day from NAHB

NAHB is proud to celebrate women in the home building industry as part of International Women’s Day, held annually on March 8, and recognize all the many ways women work to advocate for, strengthen and contribute to the housing industry. Some recent highlights include:

• Alicia Huey was recently elected as the NAHB Third Vice Chair and is expected to become chair in 2023. Huey is the third woman in NAHB’s 78-year history to be elected as a senior officer, following Sandy Dunn (2008) and Shirley Wiseman (1989).
• NAHB longtime member Judy Dinelle was recently named as the Woman of the Year at the 2020 International Builders’ Show.
• In 2019, Darylene Dennon was the first tradeswoman to be chair of NAHB’s Professional Women in Building (PWB) Council.
• This year, there are at least seven female local HBA presidents across the country who are either the first-ever female president at their respective HBA or the first female president in several decades.
• Michigan has the highest number (six) of PWB Councils in the country.

"Women are a powerhouse in the home building industry," said 2020 PWB Chair Betsy Sheppard. "I’m proud to be a member of an organization that supports and advocates for women in a historically male-dominated field." Did you know that PWB members earn $1.6 million higher earnings that non-members? In October 2019, NAHB's PWB and the Economics & Housing Policy Group conducted a member survey and found that the median dollar volume expected by current council members in 2019 is $4 million, compared to the $2.4 million expected by those who have never been a council member. A full report will be available at the NAHB Spring Leadership Meeting. Learn more about NAHB’s PWB at nahb.org/womeninbuilding or contact Claudia Richards at crichards@nahb.org.