>> You might say the construction business is in Tanya Maric’s blood. She grew up in it after her Croatian father, Steve Maric, and his Manitoba-born wife Cathie founded Maric Homes some 40 years ago. “There’s sawdust running through my veins, I’m sure. My father was a carpenter by trade so it was a natural fit for him when he moved to Canada, and so he started building houses. It was really him and my mom right from the start.” Now vice-president of operations, Tanya Maric is con- vinced that women contribute something essential to the construction business. “Women can bring a different angle,” she says. “The most natural fit in construction for women always tends to be on the design side, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. There is finance, there is management, there is coordination. “There are lots of women we work with that actually do construction: Drywallers, bricklayers, electricians. It’s just a matter of finding out what you like to do and just going for it,” she says.
Women in Construction
Tanya Maric
Vice-President of Operations Maric Homes
“Because with some experi- ence and hard work, really, there should be no boundaries.” Maric says women bring partic- ular strengths that benefit cli- ents, especially listening skills. “We do have a natural ability to be understanding and sym-
‘We have this glass ceiling — this barrier we have to overcome — so we do work a little bit harder and we do have to overcome some obstacles.’
pathetic,” she says. “And in custom-home building espe- cially, we need to offer that very personal, confident and friendly relationship, because every single detail of your home is yours. And it’s very personal.” She also recognizes that women have had to work hard to claim their place in the industry, and she appreciates that the women who work in her office are a great asset to the company. “We have this glass ceiling — this barrier we have to overcome — so we do work a little bit harder and we do have to overcome some obstacles, and I think our clients see that.” Maric went to work for her parents around age 19 — an- swering phones, sending out service requests and look- ing after office administration. She worked on and off while attending university, but when her mother needed time off to recover from an illness, she stepped up. “I took the role as more of an executive assistant to my fa- ther. He was really teaching me the estimations side. Then my role became his key assistant, getting the packages ready for the customers, getting budget pricing ready and tracking all of our job costs,” she says. Cont’d on page 28
Women in Construction Caroline Maric
Show Home & Marketing Director, Maric Homes
Parade of Homes Fall 2013 27
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