EEOC Lawsuit Over Women-Only Event Threatens LBM's Gatherings

Attendees at Nation's Best's 2025 Women's Leadership Retreat. (Nation's Best photo)

By Craig Webb

A new lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the organizer of a soft-drink company's all-woman retreat could lead construction supply dealers to alter how they put on their own events. The lawsuit also raises concerns about the future of these increasingly popular events.

EEOC's suit against a Coca-Cola distributor alleges the company's late 2024 event for about 250 of its female employees discriminated against male employees because it was an invitation-only, female-only affair. The event featured speakers and team-building exercises, as well as opportunities to connect over cocktails and dinner.

The lawsuit's summary of evidence stressed how the event organizer privately invited female employees only; privately provided things of value, including food, beverages, speakers, and opportunities; and didn't offer the same benefits to male employees. "Defendant’s exclusion of male employees from attending and participating in the event constitutes a denial of equal compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment on the basis of sex," EEOC argued.

This suggests that retreats are OK so long as male employees know about it and have the opportunity to sign up. But EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas argues in a LinkedIn post that "many employers’ sex-segregated programming entails far more than socializing."

"Programming creating or facilitating 'new girls clubs,' like 'old boys clubs' before them, often is designed to promote career development and advancement, provide critical job training and networks, among other benefits and privileges of employment," she wrote.

The agency is already investigating footwear giant Nike and financial services firm Northwestern Mutual over their corporate diversity initiatives, The Washington Post reported.

Events for women have grown in popularity across construction supply and the distribution industry in recent years. Respondents to Webb Analytics' 2024 Construction Supply 150 survey said about 20% of their workforce was female. Many LBM executives want to increase that percentage, and events focused on women were regarded as one way to do that.

Some of the biggest women-oriented events are put on by publications like HBSDealer, which sponsors an annual "Top Women in Hardware & Building Supply" gathering. Those have always been open to everyone, even if the programming is oriented to women.

Other retreats are organized by companies. For instance, Nation's Best Holdings has been holding a woman-only, invitation-only retreat since 2023. Its 2025 event featured "an inspiring industry keynote from Stefanie Couch, founder of Grit Blueprint; and a mix of team-building and networking experiences, including a scavenger hunt, live dueling pianos, and a creative Hat Bar social," according to LBM Journal's story.

Asked about Nation's Best's future plans now that it's aware of the lawsuit, President and CEO Chris Miller declared: "I am not changing a thing as it stands today."

As for HBSDealer's event, Editor in Chief Ken Clark told Webb Analytics: "From day one of our Top Women in Hardware & Building Supply program, we've always encouraged men to be in the room. We've learned the event means a lot to those who attend, and we're not taking our foot off the gas of our program or our mission to support and encourage women in this male-dominated industry."

"I’m very curious to see how this one plays out," Couch, one of Nation's Best's speakers, wrote on LinkedIn. "It is an interesting conversation I’ve had with many to ask… does it help women or hurt us to have separate events like this anyways. If many of the decision makers are men, wouldn’t it be better to just get more women in the room at those events?"

Dena Cordova-Jack, an organizational development consultant who has hosted some women-focused sessions before LBM Journal's annual Strategies Conference, says she regards the issue of woman-focused events as "a really fair question, and not necessarily a comfortable one to sit with."

"From a legal standpoint, I understand where this is heading," she continued. "If development opportunities are considered a benefit, access matters. I’ve spent many years advocating for women’s leadership development in LBM, and the need for that work isn’t going away. ... At the same time, I think there’s another layer worth keeping in view. In industries like ours, the gaps in leadership representation are real, but they’re not driven by policy, but more by pipeline. So to me, this becomes less of a yes/no question and more of a design challenge. How do we build leadership development that addresses those realities … without creating exclusion?"

Chelsea Zuccato, VP of Sales and Marketing at Patrick Lumber, stressed what she said is a continuing need.

"Nobody is throwing a 'Women in Lumber' networking event because it’s fun to be separate," she said., "It exists because walking into a room of 200 people and being one of 8 women is still the reality and we need community (both men and women do). The lawsuit doesn’t fix the condition that created the need."