Construction DEI Talks

Welcome to the Construction DEI Talks podcast, where we dive into diversity, equity, and inclusion as they relate to the construction industry. Co-hosts Jorge Quezada, Vice President of Inclusive Diversity at Granite Construction, Stephanie Roldan, Director of Lean Culture at Rosendin, and Aby Combs, Inclusive Diversity Business Partner at Granite Construction, bring new conversations with subject matter experts and discuss how we can make our industry better and stronger. Our guest today features a conversation with James McGibney about his views on allyship for women in construction and what he’s been up to lately. 
James is the Senior Director of Cybersecurity and Compliance at Rosendin, where he has been for nine years.  His primary role is to keep hackers out of the Rosendin environment and keep employees safe internally. As the company grows, they are targeted more and more, so they must remain on high alert. James shares a time when he felt different as the conversation gets underway. Listen as he opens up about his traumatic childhood, including seeing his father be physically abusive to his mother and his experience in the NYC foster care system. 
Then, the conversation shifts to James’ TV specials and his efforts to keep women safe on the internet. In the majority of his talks, a common theme is seeking help. He believes that everyone has their own way of dealing with trauma. He has found that there were actions he could take on his own that made him feel better than speaking to a therapist. In his case, getting several revenge porn websites taken down was a form of therapy. Safety all comes down to education, both for our daughters and parents. We have to realize that many people from older generations don't have the internet to navigate. To these parents, James offers advice for helping their kids’ social media accounts stay safe. Some helpful tips are to enable two-factor authentication on all accounts, keep all accounts private, and have two networks in your home. Though it's a difficult task today, his best advice is to keep your kids off the internet as much as possible. 
James also discusses the work he has done to protect men, too. After his Netflix series came out, he got over 4,000 emails to Bullyville, 91% of which were from women. While the women submitted similar stories, the men all had unique stories. Next, he explains how to protect yourself on dating apps, too. Getting hacked often occurs on iCloud accounts rather than directly on smartphones. When a person hacks into one iCloud account, they can access your kid's accounts. This is where 2-step factor authentication is very important for keeping your family safe. James wraps up the interview by identifying three calls to action: be vigilant, know what that means, and turn anger into action. 

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Learn more about podcast sponsors Granite Construction and Rosendin.

Learn more about James McGibney and Bullyville