Increase in diversity at Vulcan Materials

Construction and aggregates-related jobs traditionally appeal to men, but Vulcan Materials Co. has seen an uptick in the number of women in its workforce.

Darren Hicks, Vulcan’s vice president of human resources, told the Birmingham Business Journal that the company has seen an increase in the number of women in production positions throughout the company.

“We have seen an increase in the number of women in production positions throughout the company,” he told the Birmingham Business Journal. “We expect this trend to continue.”

According to Vulcan, 75 percent of its recruiting team is female, which attracts more females to jobs at the company. Hicks says the company’s mentoring program and the Vulcan Women’s Network also help retain female employees.

Tessa Hughes, Vulcan’s senior attorney of employment and compliance, has been with the company for about 13 years. She has noticed the growth in diversity at the company.

“In accepting the position at Vulcan, I was not concerned with the perception that the construction materials industry has been historically ‘male dominated,’” Hughes says. “Despite that history, the number of women in the industry has grown and continues to grow.”

Hughes says she has seen women fill a range of positions at the company, including legal, operations management, finance, sales, dispatch, equipment operations, office administration, market research, engineering, geology, quality control and technical services.

In addition to more women joining the Vulcan team, Hicks says the company has been trying to create an overall diversified staff. He says the company is intent on recruiting candidates with diverse backgrounds.

“A more diverse workplace benefits our organization by bringing new perspectives to the business,” he says. “[It] advances productivity and performance and improves our ability to appeal to a diverse marketplace.”