Originally called: National Coalition of Black Women in Construction (NCBWC)

History, Established in 1998       

NCBWC traces its origins to a small group of Tennessee black women in construction and business owners who began meeting informally to talk about how to gain access as “a means of approaching, utilizing, and increasing growth” in the construction industry .

NCBWC was founded by Maggie Bowens (now Maggie Freeman) in 1998 after managing a small family owned General Construction firm in the 80’s and 90’s. Her desire to help other women gain access to the male dominated construction industry, was achieved through the succession of her two daughters.

 

The succession made sense because these two young women Gnoria Bowens and Kareema Ali  were both members of the International Operative Plasters and Cement Mason’s Local 502 Apprenticeship program in Bellwood, Illinois. Both had graduated to journey level status. Both had great exposure to the industry along with a combination of being socially mentored by Chicago Women in the Trades.

In June of 2002, the two sisters relocated NCBWC along with the Construction business (CECI Services) to Metro Atlanta recognizing the tremendous opportunities offered in Georgia.

Re-established in 2008  

The organization was re-established in 2008 and was renamed: The National Coalition for Women of Color in Construction (NCWCC). The mission is now to establish a place in the construction and contracting  industry giving a seamless and systematic voice for all women of color including, but not limited to those of African decent, American Indian, Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander. NCWCC is privately funded by the family Minority women owned buinsess CECI Services.

Vision and Goal

• To provide a 21^st Century strategic programmatic process in developing inclusions for women of color owned enterprises to bid for, and to win, projects as prime contractors, joint venture partners, vendors, distributors, and as subcontractors.  
• To redesign programs for youth and women of color that promotes sustainability and   comprehensive initiatives that maximizes our participants’ growth.
• To build strategic alliances throughout the globe which promote forward thinking and drive awareness for our communities to competitively pursue complete inclusions in the contracting industry.
• To promote attractive interdependent elements for success that includes corporate social responsibilities, human capital, social capital, and environments that nurture innovation for youth and women of color. For example, research shows that current programs and policies are not working for women of color



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