Those working in the construction industry know the statistics. Roughly 47% of women are employed in the overall workforce and, yet only around 11% are employed in the construction industry, and even less are skilled trade. Progress is slow to say the least. This is unfortunate because there are several advantages for women working in the construction industry, according to a new survey.
The survey was conducted by the New York chapter of PWC (Professional Women in Construction) New York. Regina Rivera, executive director, PWC NY, says today there are only 1.3 million women employed in the construction industry, despite it being ranked as the number one paying industry for women, and as such the organization created this survey.
PWC NY conducted a survey of its members to find ways to break barriers and increase awareness opportunities for women in construction. It found the primary reasons for seeking a job in the construction industry are:
- Gender pay scale
- Advancement opportunities
- Professional development
- Benefits
- Job security
The organization suggests construction has one of the lowest gender pay gaps with women earning 95% of their male counterparts (compared to an average of 81% gender gap for all industries) and the salary of a female construction manager averaging $97,180 annually.
Some of the biggest benefits of working in the construction industry, according to the women surveyed, include:
- Contributing to the development of a building from start to finish.
- Taking pride in a tangible result that required problem-solving and creativity.
- Having the opportunity to grow.
- The gratification of being a trailblazer for other women.
Still, challenges remain. It is often hard to recruit women to the construction industry—something that has long been a challenge for many organizations. One of the biggest barriers is the lack of awareness of opportunities for women in construction. How, then, can we attract women to the construction industry?
The survey respondents suggest some ways to encourage and welcome more women into this industry include holding seminars and job fairs that tailor to skills inherent in women and to showcase the work-life-balance possibilities in the construction field.
This discussion comes amid Women’s History month. Over on The Peggy Smedley Show, I had a candid conversation about the history of women in the workplace, where we are today, and three new university research reports that suggests some big trends at work across all industries. I truly enjoy tackling this topic and invite others to mentor more women to be in the industry.
The reality is while much progress has been made, there is still much work to be done. In fact, the World Economic Forum suggests none of us will see gender parity in our lifetime and our children will likely not see it either. It will not be attained for more than a century—around 2158—which is roughly five generations from now to reach full gender parity.
Still, we can take the necessary steps today for a better tomorrow. We can consider our own workplace. We can consider our daughters, our nieces, our sisters, our granddaughters. We can teach and train that there are opportunities all around, if we are willing to look for them.
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