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Release:
January 3, 2024

Women of NATE Today Newsletter
Volume 6, Issue 1

Welcome to the New Year, a blank canvas filled with possibilities and opportunities waiting to be seized. As women, we often find ourselves playing multiple roles - professionals, caretakers, administrators, or leaders. This year let’s add another vital role to that list: being unapologetically true to ourselves.  

While 2023 was filled with challenges, I am reminded of the many new opportunities we see in Fiber, Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS), Small Cell, Broadband and more. I am encouraged to hear more female technicians entering in the industry and reaching new heights. I am inspired to collaborate with more female business owners, engineers, and site acquisition specialists who pave the way with their experience and expertise.

As women in an ever-evolving world, particularly in communications technology, we stand at the forefront of change and innovation. Let this be the year that we dictate our own paths, the roles we should play, and the dreams we should or shouldn't pursue. This year, step out of your comfort zone, push the limits a little farther, stand out, and dream big.

Dare to Dream Big

Why should our dreams have limits? Let’s dream so big that our aspirations scare us a little. Remember, every great achievement once started as a dream. Whether it’s starting that business you’ve always thought about, pursuing a new career path, leading digital transformation, or innovating new technologies, let your dreams be bold. 

Embrace Your Uniqueness

Each of us brings something unique to the table. This year let’s embrace our individuality. Let’s celebrate our differences and use them to our advantage. Being unapologetically yourself means owning your story, your background, and your perspective. It’s in these unique experiences that we find our strengths.

Nurture Your Growth

Personal and professional growth is a continuous journey. This year, invest in yourself. Learn something new. Attend workshops, seek out new experiences, and never stop learning. The more we grow, the more we have to offer to ourselves, our industry, and our world.

Support Each Other

As we strive to be our unapologetic selves, let’s not forget to uplift and empower others along the way. Share knowledge, collaborate on projects, and create networks that foster innovation and growth. Remember, when one woman succeeds, she paves the way for others.

As we embrace 2024, let's do so with confidence and a firm resolve to be true to ourselves. Let’s be unapologetic in our pursuit of greatness. Our ambitions are achievable and our potential is limitless.

Here's to a year of bold dreams, breakthroughs, and being unapologetically ourselves. Happy New Year!

WON Profile: Amanda Freeman

Amanda has worked in Safety for over 14 years in the military and construction. She was commissioned as an officer in the Georgia National Guard, and currently still serves as a Major in the Chemical Corps as a CBRN Officer (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear). She is an authorized OSHA Trainer for Construction OSHA 10 and 30-hour courses. She earned her CSP (Certified Safety Professional). She enjoys reading, riding her Peloton, and working out in her free time. She is hoping to complete at least a half marathon this year. With her family, she enjoys museums, the aquarium, playing in the park, and doing arts and crafts.

Where will you find the Women of NATE?

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Take a creative photo holding a Women of NATE (WON) logo in front of a landmark that lets us know where you are. 

(Above) The NATE Staff wants to wish all our NATE members Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

Upcoming Events

Register for NATE UNITE 2024 Today!

NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association invites you to attend NATE UNITE 2024, February 19-22 at the Renasant Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee.

NATE UNITE is widely regarded as the premier conference and trade show in the diverse tower and wireless communications infrastructure, construction, service, and maintenance infrastructure industries focused on safety. The NATE UNITE lineup consists of an impressive array of educational sessions, networking receptions, luncheons, and speakers. NATE’s tower stage area in the exhibit hall will host several opportunities for attendees to see the latest in new safety equipment and techniques. The newest exciting addition to the exhibit hall, the Drone Zone, is an innovative showcase for drone technology and will host educational sessions as well as sponsor demonstrations.

Visit natehome.com to register to attend and view further details regarding NATE UNITE 2024. Information regarding the educational sessions featured at NATE UNITE 2024 can be located in the Pre Show Planner. For further information on how to become an exhibitor and showcase your products and services to NATE UNITE attendees, the Sponsor and Exhibitor Planning Guide and the booth space contract are also available on the NATE website. Contact Shari Wirkus, NATE Events and Meetings Manager, at 605-882-5865 or shari@natehome.com for additional information on exhibiting or sponsoring NATE UNITE 2024.

Women of NATE Announces 2024 Education Scholarship

Women of NATE (WON) is pleased to announce the 2024 WON Education Scholarship. The scholarship was designed to encourage and inspire more women to enter the tower and communications infrastructure construction, service, and maintenance industry or advance their current roles within the industry. Women currently in or looking to join the telecommunications industry through university degrees, technical schools, or furthering education programs are welcome to apply.

Women play a prominent role as leaders and visionaries in the advancement of wireless and broadcast communications. Through the establishment of the WON initiative, the Association is delighted to recognize the vital contributions of women in the diverse tower and communications infrastructure industry. Two scholarships valued at $1,000 each will be awarded to two different applicants.

Application documents must be received in the NATE office by January 19, 2024. In addition to the one-page application form; applicants must provide an essay answering: why they believe the WON Education Scholarship will help them achieve their career goals in the telecommunications industry; proof of acceptance or enrollment in college, technical school, or continuing education program; and a letter of nomination from a current NATE member company. Click HERE to apply today! 

To find out more about the WON Education Scholarship, please visit http://natehome.com/women-of-nate/won-education-scholarship/. Award recipients will be announced on February 19, 2024, in conjunction with the annual NATE UNITE 2024 event in Memphis, Tennessee.

Women of NATE Open Call Registration Now Open

The New Year prompts us to think about areas of our life that need improvement. Many people set fitness or financial resolutions in January; however, this year, we challenge you to look inward and focus on your talents and skills.

In “Retool Your Skill Set: Thrive in the New Year and Beyond”, presenters  Dr. Crystal Camejo of Ritel Incorporated, Mital Chavda of Valmont Industries, and Amanda Hernandez-Lawler of Teltech Group will explore the need for skill retooling, how to reflect inward and align your strengths with a skill you’d like to develop and give you the tools to develop a personalized strategy to achieve your goals. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how to identify a skill they would like to develop and actionable steps they can implement to begin the process in their lives.

Join us for a Live NATE Webinar

The Importance of Incorporating Leading Indicators

On Thursday, January 11, 2024, at 10:00 AM CST, Karlee Rutherford, Senior Group Supervisor at ISN, and Katie McLaughlin, Senior HSEQ Team Lead at ISN, will conduct a live NATE webinar titled “The Importance of Incorporating Leading Indicators.”

The U.S. OSH Act requires employers to provide a safe and healthy workplace free of hazards and despite OSH improvements, increased focus on improving safety culture, and technology improvements, injuries continue to remain a risk in the workplace. Over the last 20+ years, the industry has seen a decline in some historical incident rate metrics such as Total Recordable Incident Rate, yet life-altering injuries and fatalities are still occurring at a steady rate. This industry is shifting focus to eliminate serious injuries and fatalities and to do that effectively, companies must expand the metrics they are measuring to look at leading indicators in addition to traditional lagging metrics like TRIR.

In the telecom industry, to reduce the number of injuries from contractors and employees alike, telecommunications companies have implemented systems to track individual training qualifications to drive accountability, monitor expiration dates, maintain OSHA compliance, and ultimately send workers home safely. Companies are also looking at safety culture and proactive safety management system implementation to have better confidence in future performance.

Through this seminar, there will be discussion around the shift to leading indicators within the telecom industry, commonly encountered challenges, and insight into partnerships with ISN and the offerings utilized to select qualified contractors with a proactive safety culture.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Join us for a Live NATE Webinar

In-Building/DAS Deployment

On Thursday, January 18, 2024, at 10:00 AM CST, John Foley, Managing Director for Safer Buildings Coalition, Scott Holt, VP of Network Operations for Boldyn Networks, Bill Holick, Director of Site Acquisition Practice for Ericsson Inc. and Tim Carman, President of Small Cell Services will conduct a live NATE webinar titled “In-Building/DAS Deployment.” Corey Manus, VP of Operations for True North Management Services, LLC will moderate the webinar.

This webinar will be a roundtable discussion regarding In-Building and DAS Deployment and how contractors can take advantage of current trends to expand their expertise in this growing segment. Tower, small cell, and fiber deployment all share common methods with In-Building and DAS development that current member companies can utilize to increase their portfolio in 2024. With customers and carriers seeking methods to provide connectivity inside large venues and buildings, there has never been a better time to investigate supporting a new technology space as a member of NATE.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Recent Event Highlights

(Above) NATE Director of Safety, Health & Compliance Kathy Stieler was in Dallas, Texas and was treated to a tour of CommScope's facility by Director of Product Line Management Structures Jared Haines.

(Above) Thank you FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez for meeting with the NATE delegation at the FCC Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Pictured are NATE Chairman of the Board Victor Drouin of Green Mountain Communications, Inc., WON Committee Member and Board Member Jessica Cobb of MDTS, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, NATE President & CEO Todd Schlekeway, and John Paul Jones of Safety LMS and Tower & Turbine Technologies. 

How to Support Women in Leadership and Drive Innovation and Growth

New findings suggest that when women lead, profits increase. Consider this: 87% of the top 500 companies led by a female decision-maker delivered above-average profits.

Companies that commit to reducing gender bias and promoting women in the workplace tend to see increased revenue and, just as importantly, create inclusive workplace cultures that can help retain loyal women employees in the long term.

So what's driving these metrics? It's simple: Women introduce new perspectives to problem-solving by bringing a different lived experience to the table. In addition, there is a growing body of evidence that points to gender equality accelerating workplace innovation.

Women spur innovation.

In a study of California's largest 400 public companies, the top 25 had the highest percentage of women in leadership positions. The results are remarkable, with these leading companies delivering a 74% higher return on assets and equity than other businesses in the survey.

Recent research shows how gender equality and diversity in leadership roles increase financial performance:

• Improved innovation through openness to employee contributions from all levels.
• Improved teamwork and productivity due to increased collective intelligence and psychological safety.
• Greater loyalty and employee retention through increased job satisfaction and decreased turnover.
• Improved purchasing power by gaining access to underserved markets and bettering product-market fit through an increased understanding of customer needs.
• Enhanced reputation by recognizing harmful policies and practices and mitigating risks.

Despite clear evidence that companies can benefit from women in leadership positions in all areas, there is still a significant gender gap in leadership positions at many organizations in all industries and sectors.

Barriers to leadership still exist.

Unconscious gender bias refers to comments, assumptions and actions related to a person's gender that are unintentionally harmful. While gender bias negatively impacts women directly, research indicates that gender bias can also negatively impact business performance.

One study found that many people believe a man, even with fewer qualifications, is better suited for leadership than a woman. This outdated thinking subjects women to a double-bind bias as they navigate the workplace. For example, if women are assertive or forthright, they're often deemed aggressive, bossy and too unlikable to be good leaders. Conversely, when a man exhibits the same behavior, he's often considered a great leader.

Unconscious gender bias significantly impacts women's psychological safety in the workplace (the notion that someone can speak up, ask questions and make mistakes without fear of punishment or humiliation). In companies that have not actively developed an inclusive framework to address unconscious bias, women in leadership roles must maintain a constant level of self-awareness to navigate their situation. This barrier shouldn't be understated, as it can deter many women from wanting to climb the corporate ladder.

While gender-related bias creates tremendous barriers for women in the workplace, researchers have identified an even wider gap in resources, allyship and sponsorship for women of color who aspire to leadership roles.

So what can we do?

We now know—and study after study has driven this point home—that while women in positions of leadership can benefit business performance, significant barriers to gender equality remain.

In my career, internal allies and sponsors were critical to success. My time in the trenches and as an executive has revealed five ways to start—and continue—the work necessary to create opportunities, space and culture for women to rise to leadership. Although not an all-inclusive list, it's a strong starting place:

1. Commit to ongoing, leveled unconscious bias training.

Most biases are deeply ingrained, and annual training exercises will not deliver a solution. Continuous training throughout the year is crucial to creating and sustaining a more inclusive environment.

2. Evaluate your hiring policies.

This is deep work that demands reflection and scrutiny. Carrying unconscious bias training into active processes through policies is essential as companies cultivate more intersectional diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) frameworks. Alongside continued training, businesses can support hiring managers by using software that helps decrease recruitment bias by hiding names, for example.

3. Increase the visibility of women through special projects.

This involves creating opportunities and space specifically for women to help lead key initiatives. These opportunities aim to create more visibility in the workplace among peers and demonstrate capabilities. Ultimately, this opens up possibilities to add allies who can propel women to the next level quicker. Without these allies, it may take many more years to advance, or it may never happen if the opportunities are simply unavailable.

4. Create space for working mothers.

The "double shifts'' of moms working full-time jobs and juggling child care and the often invisible work of household operations can no longer be ignored. The challenges increase for dual-career couples, women of color and single mothers. Some key examples of how organizations can help working mothers thrive in the workplace include allowing a flexible work schedule, closing gender pay gaps, normalizing male parental leave and providing mental health support for employees.

5. Ensure you're practicing psychological safety.

Creating a workplace culture where all employees are comfortable being themselves and strive to reach career goals requires allies across the organization. These allies must be brave enough to speak up when they see problems, and programs must encourage them to do this. Consider that employees at companies that offer autonomy and trust are 74% less stressed, have 106% more energy at work and have 50% higher productivity.

As leaders, we must all work toward developing frameworks that reduce unconscious gender bias, promote psychological safety and advance women toward leadership opportunities. As Ban Ki-moon, former secretary-general of the United Nations, said, "Investing in women is not only the right thing to do; it's the smart thing to do."

This article was previously published on forbes.com.

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