S. African women in construction look to U.S. sites for ideas

Jennifer Shubinski

Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2005 | 11:07 a.m.

Women in construction fields face many of the same challenges in countries across the globe, two South Africans said during their visit to Las Vegas.

Two delegates from the South African Association of Women in Construction toured Las Vegas Valley construction sites as part of their visit to the United States.

The women were among 21 members of the South African association that attended the United States' National Association of Women in Construction convention in Dallas. The 21 South African delegates then split up to visit construction sites across the United States.

The first Las Vegas stop for the women -- Ingrid Verwey, founder of the South African Association of Women in Construction, and Xandy Vermaak, general contractor and owner of Mirtimb Hardware and Construction -- was the Pinnacle, an office building under construction in Henderson that involves women in all aspects of its production.

Touring the site with Linda Harris, owner of general contracting company LF Harris and Company Inc., which is building the Pinnacle, Verwey and Vermaak noted the differences in building materials, costs and labor efficiencies between the two countries.

"In America it seems more simplified," Vermaak said. "In South Africa, it takes more people to get a job done."

That, along with advances in construction technology, is something they will take back to their home country, said Verwey, an architect with the Development Bank of South Africa.

While there are many women in the construction business in South Africa, it has taken some time to gain support of the government and general populace, Verwey said.

"The ministry of public works has been very supportive and the government's faith in women has been extremely important," Verwey said.

But that support of women in construction trades often does not filter down to lower-level government departments, she said.

Vermaak said she entered the construction business because her father and grandfather were both in construction.

"It's all I knew," the mother of six said. "I'm one of the few women in construction that have lasted. I just kept my head above water, and sometimes it was below water."

Vermaak has been in construction for 45 years.

Vermaak and Verwey will tour the Hoover Dam and other Las Vegas Valley construction sites before leaving Las Vegas on Thursday and rejoin their group in Dallas. The South African delegation will visit construction projects in Holland before returning to their country.