Did you know women make up 25% of facilities managers in North America? In male-dominated professions, women are often unseen and underappreciated making it difficult to find community or a sense of belonging. To address this issue, MSU’s Residential Education and Housing Services created an Employee Resource Group to serve women in facilities. This group offers a space for women to find support and grow professionally and personally while validating their experiences. 

How It All Began

This labor of love began with women in facilities expressing a need for extra support and a greater sense of belonging through the annual employee survey. Their feedback sparked the idea to create a women-led ERG. 

Dreux Baker is the assistant director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Residence Education and Housing Services and has held this role for over three years. Part of his role is developing educational resources and training for staff. After reviewing the survey data, Baker sprang into action creating a proposal, budget and flyers for the Women in Facilities ERG. All that remained was finding women to lead the program. He recruited four Facilities supervisors from across campus through his Dialogues program to spearhead the project: Cara Jackson, Tracey Ryan, Brittney Sprague and Heather Whitman.

What began as initial conversations quickly blossomed into more. The women collaborated to create themed events, presentations and posters and gathered supplies to kickstart the project. Each supervisor planned her own events each semester to allow for a diversity of topics and workload balance. Meetings were held twice a month at various times and campus locations to accommodate staff from multiple shifts. Topics have ranged from self defense and resume workshops to allyship, nutrition, yoga, the Student Organic Farm, breast cancer awareness, menopause and more. 

“I genuinely believe women’s rights are human rights. Women are oppressed in that identity, they’re a marginalized group,” Baker says. “If I’m doing the work to support them, I’m doing the work to make a difference in the world and make a positive impact.”

What Is Said Here, Stays Here. What Is Learned Here, Leaves Here.

Each meeting begins with the group’s motto: “What is said here, stays here. What is learned here, leaves here.” This lays the foundation for the meeting — an environment for candid dialogue and emotional support. Meetings are open to women across Facilities and allies who want to use their privilege to support women and learn. The events offer personal and professional development opportunities, allowing employees and supervisors to build authentic relationships outside of their roles and to grow from each other. 

Jackson, Ryan, Sprague and Whitman each planned unique events around their passions. One of the most popular meetings was the Jackson-organized self-defense class. Jackson has worked in REHS for six years, moving her way up from on-call staff to supervisor. Inspired to organize a martial arts class because she, like many others, feared for her safety walking alone in the dark to and from her shifts, she partnered with the Mid-Michigan Academy of Martial Arts, where she previously trained to teach women basic self-defense moves. This included how to use everyday tools for protection such as purses, water bottles and keys. With the assistance of a few men in the department, they practiced techniques such as escaping a bear hug and the two-hand wrist-grab to build confidence and a stronger sense of safety. 

Whitman, a facilities supervisor with more than 10 years of experience at MSU, led a session on perimenopause and menopause in the workplace. Inspired by her own experiences, Whitman aimed to raise awareness around the changes in women’s bodies to inform and support each other and know they are not alone. It can be confusing and challenging working in hot spaces battling the various symptoms in menopause. Whitman’s openness and candid conversation encouraged others to share their experiences. 

“I cannot tell you how excited I am that you did a presentation on menopause in the workplace,” an attendee told Whitman. “The fact you brought it out and talked about it, thank you for trying to spread the word about something we all go through.”

Sprague has served MSU in both Culinary Services and Facilities roles for the past seven years. In her session on allyship, she shared what it means to be an ally and educated attendees on how to best support women both at work and in their personal lives. A single father attended to better understand how to support his daughter, while others left with tools to educate their sons and peers. 

“As a single dad raising a daughter, I’ve found the Women’s ERG incredibly powerful,” said attendee Mark Pincumbe following the event. “It provided invaluable insights into the challenges women face, empowering me to be more effective advocating for her, my peers and all women to create a more equitable future for everyone.”

Ryan, has served as Facilities supervisor for two and a half years and organized a visit to the MSU Student Organic Farm. There, she taught attendees how to garden and access fresh, organic produce on campus. It was an opportunity for Facilities workers to take their mind off of the busy workload in the summer and connect with community resources.

Strength In Numbers 

Since the creation, the Women in Facilities ERG quickly gained traction from women and allies across campus. What began as five to 10 attendees grew to as many as 35. Many women have supported the idea of a mentorship pipeline program through the ERG, an opportunity for more women to gain leadership experience and plan future events. 

Having established one of the first university ERG for women in facilities, the Facilities supervisors shared their experience with both Central Michigan University and MSU Culinary Services, both of which are planning their own women-centered resource groups.

Ryan enjoyed presenting at Central Michigan and connecting with people looking to build community in their own work. She’s even gained a newfound satisfaction in developing unique skills and exploring outside her comfort zone. Working nights, Ryan says she rarely interacts with many colleagues, but the ERG has shown her there is a community in facilities to uplift women, even if not seen on a daily basis. 

Whitman says presenting has boosted her confidence and pride in the group’s accomplishments. It showed her leadership at MSU has faith in the ERG and sees all the team’s valuable hard work. Presenting to the Culinary Services department also reinforced the importance of expanding the group’s success across campus.

“Being part of this ERG has helped me gain confidence as a supervisor and at home,” says Whitman. “It’s given me a sense of self-worth and makes me feel like I can make a difference in the MSU community.”

Sprague feels honored to help lead the ERG. She acknowledged that being a woman in a male-dominated field is a daily challenge, but the ERG offers a space to address struggles, build connections and create a supportive environment across campus neighborhoods. Looking forward, Sprague hopes to build a foundation with more 1585 Union staff members and build mentorship opportunities for more women. 

Jackson, who has worked in male-dominated spaces her entire career, has often faced backlash from people who believed women don’t belong in her line of work and questioned her authority. She appreciates contributing to a safe space where other women with similar experiences can feel seen and heard. She also received feedback from supervisors and leadership that the ERG has improved morale within their units because the women feel less alone and have a safe space to speak. 

“I’m very fortunate and very proud of the ERG,” says Jackson. “I’ve been working here since before COVID and noticed a difference before and during the ERG. I’m really excited to see how far this will grow and evolve.”

More to Come

The Women in Facilities ERG remains committed to their objectives, including fostering connection, solidarity and resilience among its members by creating a safe space for women to share experiences with sexism, misogyny and patriarchal culture at MSU. Through open conversations and community support, the ERG empowers women and validates their experiences without the obligation to explain it to those who identify as men.

Looking ahead, the ERG plans to grow its mentorship programs to support more women leaders in facilities. The group welcomes feedback and event ideas from attendees as it continues to grow. The success of this program is an example of the strength and power of women when they come together to support each other. The ERG is a step toward ensuring every woman in facilities feels seen, heard and valued and to know she is exactly where she belongs. 

Author: Olivia Williams, student communications assistant