Water Women

Closing out Women’s History Month, meet Barbara, René and Amy: three women working at PWD, making a difference everyday and doing extraordinary things in their careers.

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What is something that people would find interesting about the job that you do at PWD?

My team provides engineering support to the groups that operate, maintain, inspect, and repair our sewer network. What most people don’t realize (and what I didn’t know until I worked here) is the sewer network in Philly is enormous. It’s 3,700 miles of sewer, 29 pump stations, and 72,000 inlets. When you take a shower or do a load of laundry, you take for granted that the soapy water just leaves your house and goes away, but it takes a long journey from your house to the treatment plant. And there’s a diligent team of people at PWD working to ensure that our soapy water can get there. People think of the sewers as “dirty work,” but they’re an incredible feat of engineering.

What advice would you give a younger version of yourself looking to work at PWD in your career field?

I came out of engineering school thinking my only opportunities in the industry would be doing design work in the private sector. PWD hires engineers to work on all lifecycle stages of our infrastructure, from planning through design and construction to operations. By luck, I got hired in an operations role at PWD and I LOVE it. It’s a healthy mix of long-term projects and reactive assignments and requires both desktop analysis and field investigations. We work collaboratively with other PWD units to help keep things running smoothly. Every day is different, challenging, and rewarding.

Do you think there are any barriers for women wanting to do your job? If so, how did you overcome them?

Engineering (and particularly operations) are still male-dominated fields, but that has changed a lot over the past decade. It seems that outreach and “women in STEM” programming has attracted more women to this industry from an early age, and efforts at the hiring level to both bring in women and improve workplace culture to retain them has helped tremendously.
The biggest barrier that I still see, and where we have opportunity to improve the most, is retaining women once they become parents. Statistically, moms with full-time careers still take on the majority of tasks at home, and where we can support them is with flexibility at work.

Who is a woman that you admire and why?

Every single one of my friends, colleagues, and family members. You become who you surround yourself with. I have an amazing village of women in my life and none of us would be here without each other.

Share your favorite quote by a woman…

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt

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What is something that people would find interesting about the job that you do at PWD?

I get the opportunity to meet with customers and assist them with their issues and concerns. I also educate the community about special programs to assist them with payments that ensure they are current on their water bill. It is a great feeling to help people that really need someone to advocate on their behalf.

What advice would you give a younger version of yourself looking to work at PWD in your career field?

Treat people the way you want to be treated. Be a team player and have a positive attitude. Take on additional duties beyond your job description that will allow you to learn new skills. Be creative and mindful that there is nothing wrong with having a good time at work. Laughter is healthy and good for the soul. I now work with an amazing group of young people who are smart and always available when an entire team effort is required. I feel really lucky to end my time with Public Affairs, as well as the many wonderful people I have met along the way in other units and other City departments.

Do you think there are any barriers for women wanting to do your job? If so, how did you overcome them?

I do not feel that there are any barriers for a woman to do my job, but I have found that I experienced barriers in trying to advance to other positions. The Civil Service system can be unfair in how it works. I have had the person that was assigned to the position in OHR not understand the qualifications. I have also seen people obtain positions that they were not qualified for. This has been frustrating but along the way I have had some amazing work relationships in several units within Water. I have had the pleasure of working with a diverse group of women of different ages, ethnic backgrounds, religions, sexual orientation, and other different beliefs. We are all women who have more things in common than we do differences, and I pride myself on being respectful, empathic, caring, and supportive to others as we go through life’s ever-changing challenges.

Who is a woman that you admire and why?

Michelle Obama – THE Michelle Obama. She is a personable, intelligent, down to earth, caring, a role model and mentor to women of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. She sets the gold standard of womanhood by being a wife, mother, community activist and a professional career woman. She makes me, an African American woman, so proud of how she represents us to the world.

Share your favorite quote by a woman…

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

– Maya Angelou

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What is something that people would find interesting about the job that you do at PWD?

My job is incredibly unique because it’s the intersection of making sure Public Affairs is distributing helpful community project information, and managing the craziness of construction. There is so much to know about the history and complexity of capital project management. I am always meeting new colleagues and valuable community groups. I have the chance to get out into the field to see how work is done and I learn new things all the time 🙂

What advice would you give a younger version of yourself looking to work at PWD in your career field?

Talk to everyone and get involved in projects outside of your unit! It’s the best way to learn new skills and get to know your coworkers.

Do you think there are any barriers for women wanting to do your job? If so, how did you overcome them?

There are definitely barriers for women in construction communications, especially because these fields are often male dominated (construction men are scary! They don’t smile!) Over the years I’ve been able to build strong relationships with tons of PWD construction teams and community stakeholders. Putting myself out there, getting to know coworkers and the work they do, and advocating for my goals have helped. And now I always wear I-mean-business sunglasses to pre-construction meetings.

Who is a woman that you admire and why?

I admire my mom, for her fairness and sense of humor and kind spirit! She has always shown me the importance of standing up for what’s right, and she’s always down to be silly with me. Life is never too serious.

Share your favorite quote by a woman…

Poem: How I Go to the Woods by Mary Oliver