By Amy King, The National Center for Construction Education and Research
What if I told you that the largest demographic of our population is the same group that is often overlooked or dismissed when it comes to construction careers? This is not only a missed opportunity but rather, millions of missed opportunities. It is expected that the construction industry will need 1.9 million craft professionals by 2025, and yet there is an entire segment of the population that remains underutilized – women.
Statistics show that for every four people leaving the construction industry, only one enters. ONE. Recruiting women could easily bring that number up. Couple that with increasing investment in rebuilding infrastructure, expanding public transport and upgrading the power grid, this becomes a dire employment situation far beyond what we are used to. To keep up with an expanding backlog of projects and an aging workforce, the construction industry must find ways to reach potential workers, and women hold the key to that initiative.
Why Women?
More importantly, why not women? As it stands, women make up only 11% of the overall construction workforce, and that number dwindles further when looking at the craft professions. Most women hold managerial, technical and administrative roles. Craft professions, where the greatest workforce shortages exist, are less than four percent female. On a positive note, that four percent is on the rise from under three percent in 2011. However, a one-percent gain in over a decade is still rather disheartening.
Last year, the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) conducted focus groups across North America as part of its research project, “In Her Own Words: Improving Project Outcomes.” More than 175 tradeswomen were asked to discuss how we can better understand their unique contributions to the construction industry and share how to make the industry a preferred choice for women. Some of the most frequently mentioned attributes of women in the industry were their focus on teamwork, attention to detail, organization, safety and ability to multitask.
With technology and engineering reducing or removing reliance on physical strength and improving workplace efficiencies, managers in the focus groups shared that women tend to follow the work process instead of leaning on experience or physical strength, which has positive effects on safety. Women often follow the plan and think through how they can work without rushing. They also follow directions and pay more attention to how they are performing tasks, which leads to a consistent focus on details.
To further confirm the positive impact women have on performance, a 2021 Construction Industry Institute survey of 2,780 construction craft professionals found that respondents with at least one woman on their crew rated themselves higher in safety, attendance, quality and productivity than those with all male crews.
Women from NCCER’s focus groups emphasized that many of their male colleagues largely focused on personal and individual achievements rather than overall performance of their crew. In contrast, women are more focused on the success of their entire team rather than their own individual achievements. At a time when there is great emphasis on suicide prevention in the construction industry, a supportive team environment is more important than ever.
Creating a Place Where Women Want to Work
To bring more women to the construction industry, we must start by improving and transforming our existing jobsites and workplaces to become more user friendly for women. The focus groups offered numerous suggestions on how to achieve this. Ideas include addressing discrimination and harassment, accommodating caregivers, offering training opportunities, having equal treatment, increasing female leadership and improving jobsite amenities and supplies.
Discrimination and Harassment
When it comes to discrimination and sexual harassment, subtle gains over the years have not eradicated the problem. A good starting point is to develop a sexual harassment policy that has a transparent process for complaints. To go a step further, retaining a third-party service that receives complaints and submits to management for assessment and follow-though can add another layer of anonymity for women. In addition, creating women resource groups that meet regularly and offer feedback for the company can help women feel connected and provide a greater sense of belonging.
Flexible Accommodations
Remote and work-from-home careers are at an all-time high. The construction industry – specifically field positions – cannot compete with that level of benefit. However, there are ways we can create flexible schedules to improve work-life balance for women, who often need it most. Some options include adjusting and implementing predictable work hours, offering paid time off and exploring childcare options.
Research shows that women are the primary caregivers for their families, from young children to aging parents. Unfortunately, 25% of craft professionals in the field have faced disciplinary action for missing work for family or personal situations. And to make matters worse, 57% of the tradeswomen said they do not have PTO compared to only four percent of women working a construction managerial or administrative position. Having equal policies among field and office employees can increase morale and attract more women to the field. Another suggestion from NCCER’s focus group participants was for companies to partner with childcare companies that provide early pickup, drop off and on-site childcare services.
Training
Training was important to women in the focus groups. On average, young girls receive less exposure to construction skills than boys of the same age. The women in NCCER’s focus groups highlighted how when they did receive training, it opened doors for them at their companies. Some of the women started out on the jobsite as bus drivers or custodians before being exposed to construction. Seeing that there were training programs is why they made the switch to construction, and the training is what kept them there.
Equal Treatment
It should go without saying that treating women equally should be a requirement in the workplace. Unfortunately, this is not always the case in the construction industry. When women are unable to participate in all aspects of a project site, they cannot learn the same knowledge and skills as their male counterparts. Many times, women are not given the chance to do difficult or heavy jobs because of their gender. Male colleagues often have good intentions in their efforts to assist in this area, but in doing so, it denies women the chance to be fully engaged in their craft and does not allow them to increase their skills.
Leadership
Women want to work where they see other women in leadership, so they know there is a potential career path. Fifty seven percent of the tradeswomen in the focus groups said they have never had a female supervisor, yet 69% of the same tradeswomen indicated they are interested in leadership positions. Companies should identify early on which tradeswomen would make great leaders and develop a leadership track to quickly create more female representation at higher levels in the field.
Jobsite Amenities and Supplies
The last recommendation from focus group participants was for companies to improve or create a jobsite environment with women’s needs in mind. The primary needs being hygiene and attire. Providing bathroom facilities with trash cans and feminine products, and offering PPE designed to fit women are the chief requests from women in the field.
Sponsorship is the New Mentorship
Diving deeper into how construction can be more inclusive for women, NCCER partnered with the leadership training company Ambition Theory to research the issue. Their report, Building Better: A Women in Construction Study, included feedback from 770 women in construction representing various sectors, roles, ages and years of experience. A key takeaway from the study was that mentorship is not enough for women to succeed in the industry. Women need something more impactful that will expand their abilities. That is where sponsorship comes in. While mentorship is merely about guidance and encouragement, sponsorship provides opportunities and exposure for career advancement.
Sponsors put their reputation on the line for women. They will assign high-profile tasks, connect women with stakeholders, offer high-visibility opportunities, include women in key meetings and advocate publicly for promotions.
Change Starts Now
The need for more workers in the construction industry is more than just a numbers game. Filling open positions does not solve anything unless the people we hire have the right attributes to make the industry a success. With their attention to detail and focus on teamwork and safety, women bring a lot to the jobsite and the industry as a whole. When companies begin to see how women can benefit their workforce, then the industry will start to see substantial gains in hiring, retention and project performance.
About the Author:
Amy King is a freelance writer and editor for the National Center of Construction Education and Research. She has 20 years of marketing and public relations experience. Amy is a graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in public relations.
