The 2026 Fall Women Build, held over two weeks in September, saw over 100 volunteers donate their time and energy into building homes and inspiring other women to work on construction sites. This season’s build took place at Yarrow Townhomes and Riverbend Comunidad in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood, along with volunteer days at the Habitat Stores and Volunteer Workshop.
Women Build is an affinity build that celebrates women heads of household, who make up 60% of Habitat homeowners. It is also about creating welcoming construction sites where women feel comfortable accessing this industry. Onsite mentorship means that those who have blazed a trail in the construction industry help to lift the next generation.
Women Build is also about recognizing inequities that still exist in the construction industry, and that meaningful change requires both individual and structural investment. Liz Mathiesen, a former AmeriCorps turned Habitat SKKC staffer on the Construction team, said of her time in the industry, “Construction sites have a reputation for being boys’ clubs, and unfortunately, that reputation has a lot of validity. Women have been historically excluded from the trades—and given that most tools, equipment, and PPE in use today are designed exclusively for men, that history is far from over. As someone who regularly makes do with high-vis vests and work gloves that don’t quite fit, I’m reminded all the time that the construction industry has a long way to go when it comes to including women.”
This event reflects our commitment to doing the work needed to make construction a more welcoming field to all. Most importantly, Women Build—and particularly the Women of Impact Day—is about the power of gathering in community, as women celebrating and supporting other women.
Women of Impact, the premiere event of Women Build held on September 12, saw over 30 volunteers participate in one action-packed day at our Riverbend Comunidad site. The morning kicked off with an orientation, speeches from Habitat SKKC’s CEO Brett D’Antonio and Lily Kim, Principal at Amazon, and safety instructions from Liz Mathiesen.
Participants also heard from Danacia S., one of Habitat’s homeowners, who discussed what being a first-time homeowner has meant to her: “Homeownership gave me the security I needed to start building a life instead of simply trying to survive. My home has given me a foundation. It has given me a place to heal, a place to create, a place to work, and a place to imagine what comes next.”
Led by Habitat SKKC staff, volunteers at Women of Impact had a variety of projects to work on at the build site, from framing walls to building planter boxes. The day brought out many groups, from coworkers to friends to a couple of mother-daughter duos, including Habitat SKKC Senior Manager of Repair Kate Lemly and her mom, Kathleen. Kathleen said proudly of her time onsite, “It’s a delight to be anywhere my daughter is. I’m inspired by her leadership.”
The ability to do hands-on work is a draw for many Women Build participants, but even more so is the opportunity to build camaraderie with the other volunteers.
At the end of the event, Liz optimistically reflected, “Despite the data bias and stigma of being a woman on the job site, women show up anyway. We have so many wonderful women volunteers who come out during Women Build and work incredibly hard, building useful things with equipment that wasn’t designed with them in mind. I find it so meaningful to work alongside these women and prove that the job site is our space, too. Women Build is always so awesome, so I hope to see more women volunteers out year-round!”