Suffolk Hosts Waltham Girl Scouts For Day Of Learning

WALTHAM, MA — Suffolk, one of the largest real estate and construction companies in the country, hosted 22 Girl Scouts from Camp Cedar Hill in Waltham for a day of learning about construction and the importance of female representation in the industry.

The visit was part of Suffolk’s Rebuild the Ratio Partnership with Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, an initiative launched last year with a pledge by Suffolk to increase the percentage of women employed by the company by 10 percentage points over 10 years - a dramatic increase that will provide more jobs for women and boost the percentage of women employees to nearly 40 percent.

With females representing only 9.9 percent of building industry workers, Suffolk is addressing this inequity by moving industry culture away from a lack of mentorship and stereotypes discouraging young women from entering Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

According to Suffolk, industry studies show that 74 percent of teen girls said they were interested in STEM, with 81 percent considering a career in a specific STEM field. However, only 13 percent of these young women will pursue that career.

Suffolk’s Rebuild the Ratio initiative seeks to provide mentorship and accentuate representation of women in construction in a positive way, while exposing girls to construction and STEM fields at a young age.

The Girl Scouts who visited Suffolk’s Boston headquarters were treated to a day of learning and inspiration. Following an introduction to Suffolk and its projects, the girls toured headquarters, engaged in a question-and-answer session with female leaders, participated in enlightening CoLab and STEM activities, and received a job site tour of Suffolk’s Northeastern University EXP project.

"The goal of the day was to show these young girls, all in grades 6-8, that they are capable, valued, and incredibly important to the future of the construction industry,” Suffolk said in a statement.

Through its partnership with Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, Suffolk is contributing to the development of a Construction 101 Curriculum, customized for girls 5-17 years of age. This will bring STEM career exploration to thousands of girls across the country, ultimately inspiring more young women interested in construction-related STEM careers.