A group of women who work at the Carmel Street Department was honored by representing the city on a special panel at the national Snow Conference put on by the American Public Works Association in Omaha, Neb.
Staff members Paighton Armes, a skilled laborer, Terese Ariens, also a skilled laborer, and Crystal Edmondson, Operations Manager, were invited to sit on the panel and share their experiences of working in a male-dominated industry.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, only about 13 percent of the jobs filled at street departments and other transportation-related industries are held by women. The Carmel Street Department employs 20 female employees in full-time, part-time, and seasonal roles.
Editor’s note: The Carmel Street Department has 61 full-time employees, 12 part-time employees, and approximately 20 seasonal employees. That makes their percentage of female employees approximately 21.5 percent, well above the national average.
“We have worked hard over the years to bring more diversity to our city departments, and it is nice that Street Department staff was recognized by the Public Works Association for those efforts,” Mayor Jim Brainard said.
The three-day conference held education sessions and the exhibit floor highlighted industry standards for winter maintenance.
“We learned a lot about our industry, met great people from the public works field, and plan to use our knowledge to help Carmel continue to lead the way in winter maintenance for our community,” Edmonson said.