The engineering industry is staring down a projected shortfall of 600,000 engineers by 2027. Recruiting alone won't close the gap. Retention and equity have to be part of the conversation.
In this episode of Wine After Work, Bryce sits down with Michele Heyward—civil engineer turned tech founder and CEO of PositiveHire—to talk about why engineers are leaving the profession and how firms can rethink workplace culture to keep them.
We cover:
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Why 40% of women engineers leave between 10–20 years into their careers
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The persistent barriers to retaining women and underrepresented talent in engineering
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Why graduating more women engineers isn't solving the pipeline problem
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Practical steps AEC firms can take to make workplaces more inclusive and sustainable
About Michele Heyward:
Dirt road born and raised in rural South Carolina, Michele Heyward is a civil engineer turned tech founder on a mission to build a more equitable infrastructure future, one inclusive workforce at a time. As CEO of PositiveHire, she's helping AEC firms tackle two of their biggest challenges: the engineering talent shortage and the underrepresentation of women of color in technical roles.
Michele holds a BS in Civil Engineering and an MS in Industrial Management from Clemson University. She spent over a decade in the energy sector as a construction project manager, where she helped build the power grid, breaking gender barriers in the field. Her career spans technical sales, technology transfer, and leading billion-dollar infrastructure projects. Recognizing that solving the engineering talent crisis means retaining the talent you already have, Michele launched PH Balanced, a proprietary software platform that helps AEC companies retain technical professionals, especially mid-level women of color engineers and scientists.
As a 2024 LinkedIn Top Voice, Michele uses the platform to connect with industry leaders and share practical insights on how to close the gap between workforce needs and inclusive innovation. She believes the future of infrastructure starts with who's at the table—and she's here to make sure it's not the same few faces.
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