For the first time at Convention, Carpet One brought the women of its membership together to discuss business, challenges, solutions to those challenges and the future, which according to the numbers, is female.

Carpet One women in leadership are contributing to the 36% of U.S. businesses that are owned by women. And with 20% of CCA’s board being female, 44% of Carpet One RNG Coordinators being female and 50% of the Carpet One board also being female, there was no better time than now for these leaders to come together for a meeting of the minds.

A panel-led discussion with industry powerhouses—that happen to be women—left many in the room laughing, shedding a few happy tears and ultimately feeling encouraged to move forward in both their professional and personal journeys. Touching on everything from challenges to triumphs in the workplace and beyond were Chanel Clifford, vice president of national accounts, COREtec; Ann McDermott, vice president of national sales, Shaw; and Kelly Oberschlake, senior director of sales, Mohawk.

“It’s so important for women to stick together and build each other up in this industry and in the construction industry overall, which is a male-dominated industry,” said Oberschlake.

Building each other up through mentorship seemed to be a common theme among the women in attendance and many spoke to the impact serving as a mentor and being mentored, by both women and men, has had on their lives.

By sharing knowledge, you multiply your power, says Nicole Harding, vice president of CCA Global University. A leader in the organization herself, Harding facilitated a discussion based on the New York Time’s bestseller Multipliers written by Liz Wiseman.

“As we bring opportunities to this forum, I want to make sure that we are also talking about solutions so that we can break through those opportunities and actually have some success,” said Harding. “This isn’t about talking about it, it’s about being about it and that’s really what I’m hoping these conversations lead to.”

Each woman in attendance left with a copy of Multipliers, and the conversation among the group is set to continue at Carpet One’s Summer Convention, where the group will come together again to discuss the book.

For more information, visit ccaglobalpartners.com