Armstrong Women Achieving Real Excellence (AWARE) is an Employee Resource Group at Armstrong, which seeks to address the challenges women face in business and to promote the strength and power of women helping women in the workplace. The group provides female employees opportunities to network internally and a forum to share ideas and best practices, peer support and advice for women with shared circumstances and concerns. Since 2020, it has grown from 30 members to 150, including male allies.

Throughout 2021, AWARE organized monthly member-driven events, including guest speakers, networking opportunities and community volunteering events. For example, AWARE members participated in events for the Ladies of Virtue, a Chicago-based mentoring and civic engagement organization dedicated to helping Black girls in underserved areas become future leaders. 

In 2021 AWARE also began partnering with the Architecture, Construction and Engineering (ACE) Mentor Program of America to launch an internship program, started the AWARE NESS (New Employees Sharing Successes) group and created a “Meet Me Monday” internal website with meet-up opportunities to expand outreach to female employees.