Kaufman, J. (2019). The boss? You’re looking at her: 7 women in the building business. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/01/realestate/the-boss-youre-looking-at-her-7-women-in-the-building-business.html

Kaufman illuminates the experience of seven women working in different sectors of the construction industry. Though all of these women have unique stories to tell, they all had to work rigorously to be respected as authority figures in their field. Leslie Baltes is the president of the Long Island City based industrial supply company. She recounts “having to be tough” with her drivers and other employees when they weren’t keen on taking orders from a woman. Baltes also recalls being verbally harassed when providing a quote for a large developer: ‘“Were you a manicurist or a hairdresser before you got this gig?” the men asked. “And who did you have to sleep with to get it?”’ Kaufman leaves room for optimism reminding the reader that as more women are in positions of power the bigger influence they have on who makes up the team.