Frances Yarbrough of SeamonWhiteside: 5 Things We Need To Do To Close The Gender Wage Gap

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General awareness & Equal opportunities for career advancement — Bringing attention to the gender wage gap is the first step in the right direction, which should be communicated regularly to upper management. Providing equal opportunities in the workplace will be a huge step in closing the gender wage gap.

As part of my series about “the five things we need to do to close the gender wage gap,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Frances Yarbrough.

Frances has been a Civil Engineer with SeamonWhiteside (SW+) since her graduation from Clemson University in 2013. After several years in the Mount Pleasant, SC office, Frances was chosen to be part of a strategic team to open an SW+ office in Charlotte, NC. In addition to being a Civil Engineering Team Leader, her role includes Charlotte Office Operations, People Support, and Sustainable Office Growth.

She has worked on a variety of projects, including mixed-use developments, roadway and utilities infrastructure, retail expansions and improvements, single and multi-family residential, and luxury private homes.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us the “backstory” that brought you to this career path?

I grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, and went to Clemson University to major in General Engineering (go Tigers!). I used to think I wanted to be a teacher since my mom and aunts are teachers. But after learning my love for math growing up, I decided to try engineering since I knew Clemson had multiple options in the engineering field. I initially thought I would turn to bioengineering or chemical engineering but decided on Civil Engineering due to its broad curriculum and future career options.

I applied to various companies in the structural engineering and land development fields but found my home at SeamonWhiteside. The culture at SeamonWhiteside stood out in my interview, and it seemed like a great place to work and grow both personally and professionally (not to mention living in Charleston was a big perk!).

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this career?

One of the most interesting and meaningful stories is my journey to Charlotte, NC. SW+ had strategic initiatives in place and wanted to continue to offer more growth opportunities to employees. In the fall of 2018, the SW+ Charlotte office came to fruition, and this new market provided a unique opportunity for me. I had recently gotten engaged and discussed with my fiancé at the time, who worked for a general contractor in Atlanta, in which city we would land. We both truly enjoyed working for our companies, and his company also had an office in Charlotte. The timeline of the SW+ Charlotte office’s opening aligned with my desire for growth and the SW+ team that would be making the leap from Mount Pleasant to Charlotte was a smart and passionate group. The leap of faith has been exciting, and it is great to see our team and SW+ office continue to grow.

Can you share a story about the funniest or most interesting mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I hated asking questions and would do everything I could to solve a problem before asking a mentor at work. We designed one project for an internal QA/QC review, and it was found that the project could be designed more efficiently by reevaluating the drainage design. I learned from this to trust my instincts on design and raise questions when learning to provide the best quality finished product for our clients. Now that I am training others, I encourage them to ask questions and know that we are all growing from them.

Ok let’s jump to the main focus of our interview. Even in 2020, women still earn about 81 cents for every dollar a man makes. Can you explain three of the main factors that are causing the wage gap?

1. Females now hold more leadership roles than before, but few have positions at the highest levels of leadership (at least in the A&E industry)
   - Could lead to management unintentionally overlooking qualified female candidates
   - No female representation to champion equal pay
2. Familial responsibility
   - The expectation to spend more time helping out at home than their partner
   - Expectation to care for children more than their partner
   - Expectation to care for elderly or sick family members
3. Failure to ask for more
   - Afraid of rejection
   - May mistakenly think it’s inappropriate to ask for more or that you are undeserving of higher wages

Can you share with our readers what your work is doing to help close the gender wage gap?

Our company has hired a new HR director to help identify disparities and advocate for employees’ needs. She brings with her 18 years of experience in many different fields. We are also implementing a new Leadership Training & Mentorship Program throughout all offices. At the same time, I have actively worked with several other colleagues in the office to create a SW+ Women’s group. We intend to offer support, advice and activities that encourage friendship between coworkers.

Can you recommend 5 things that need to be done on a broader societal level to close the gender wage gap. Please share a story or example for each.

1. General awareness & Equal opportunities for career advancement — Bringing attention to the gender wage gap is the first step in the right direction, which should be communicated regularly to upper management. Providing equal opportunities in the workplace will be a huge step in closing the gender wage gap.
2. Access to leadership training — Access to external and internal leadership programs has played an essential role in my development as a leader and teammate. It has also helped to “level the playing field” I share with male coworkers.
3. Building supportive communities to retain female employees — Throughout my career, I have relied on support from female leaders at SW+. Their past experiences have proven invaluable, especially when it comes to working in a male-dominated industry.
4. Outreach to young females regarding high earning professions — I have attended both elementary and college career fairs for the past few years and enjoy showing students the possibilities with Civil Engineering that they may not hear about otherwise. It has been incredibly encouraging to see the number of female attendees at college career fairs increase over the years! It has led to an increase in female interns and new hires in our offices.
5. Apprenticeship — I have had elementary through college-aged students spend a day shadowing me, and I enjoy exposing young students to my profession and encourage them to explore the engineering field.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I would love to bring a sizable national-scale mentorship program to women in male-dominated industries. Regardless of the role, women face similar challenges across the board. Finding an outlet for women to connect and support each other would be extremely valuable.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My grandmother and mom would always tell my sisters and me to “be sweet.” I have taken this to mean you should treat others how you want to be treated. In a similar vein, Kenny Seamon, one of the founders of SW+, used to say, “you catch more flies with honey.” This aligns with our SW+ client service focus, and I believe treating others with respect is vital to succeeding in our industry and life in general.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

My first choice would have to be Beyonce :). I have been a huge fan since her Destiny’s Child days and think she is incredibly talented. She has such a large following; it would be interesting to hear her story of her growth in the music industry and how she got to where she is today.

To add to the unlikely list of lunch dates, it would be interesting to have lunch with Queen Elizabeth. I am currently watching the Crown and have been intrigued to learn more about this female leader starting in the mid-1900s, a time when few women held leadership positions. It would be fascinating to hear her perspective on world events and changes in society from the beginning of her rule to today.

This was really meaningful! Thank you so much for your time.