A How-to Guide for Recruiting Women to Construction Careers
Date Posted: November 8, 2019
Posted In: Ideas, Workforce,
From For Construction Pros: The share of women working in construction trades in 2018 was the highest in twenty years, but women remain strongly underrepresented in the trades: fewer than one in twenty (3.4%) of construction trades workers in 2018 were women.
Female careers in the construction industry have remained shockingly low for decades, due in large part to the discrimination that blocks women from entering and staying in the field. Sexual harassment and hostility, lack of mentors and stereotyped assumptions about women’s capabilities all contribute to the problem.
So what’s the solution? Women represent a huge segment of workers that are largely untapped for careers in construction. Since 84% of construction companies report not being able to find enough laborers for the work they have in their pipeline, we need to work together to encourage women to try these careers, not deter them with the usual stigmas.
1. Focus on the Benefits
Construction trades provide well-paid jobs that do not require a college degree. In 2018, women working full-time in construction and extraction occupations made $785 per week at the median, compared with $834 for men. The gender wage gap in construction is more narrow than for women in the general workplace. While women overall earn 81 cents for every dollar earned by a man, women in construction make 94 cents for every dollar earned by a men.
Careers in construction can also offer women job security, competitive benefits, paid vacation and the satisfaction of building something that really matters to the communities in which they live. We should focus on the benefits of these careers instead of the potential hardships.
2. Change the Perception
There is a longstanding perception that all jobs in the industry require extensive physical labor in frequently challenging and/or dangerous conditions. And while there are individuals, including women, who are open to this type of work, today’s workforce is less enamored with these types of roles. However, the growing presence of technology creates many new job opportunities that women may excel at, plus there are managerial positions available such as project managers, crew foremen, safety managers and more. Construction is no longer all about manual labor and the idea that women are not physically strong enough to work in it.