Making Jobsites More Welcoming for Diversity

Nora El-Khouri Spencer didn’t come from a construction background, but her experience working in HR for Lowe’s gave her tools—literally—to start home repairs and eventually making renovations a side gig.

Remodeling is where Nora’s strengths and passions were able to shine. She desired a way to become a “vessel of social change,” as she’s said, so she left Lowe’s and began grad school for social work.

She had witnessed the opportunity gap for women in construction, and saw it even when she interned at a homeless shelter during grad school, where women wanted to explore construction careers but had 0 clue how to start.

That was the spark that would become North Carolina’s first standalone women’s trade training program. Hope Renovations launched in July 2020, and now Nora joins us to share a bit about the journey and what she’s learned about how to make the industry and jobsites better suited for more women in the workforce.

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