International Women’s Day & Women in Construction

March 8 is International Women’s Day and today I want to shine a light on women in the construction industry. When you think of any male-dominated industry, construction is probably the first job that comes to mind. How do women figure into this industry and what are the opportunities available for them?

Of all the people who work in construction, women comprise only a small 9 percent of the workforce. Considering that women make up 47 percent of all employed individuals, this means that the construction industry is only benefiting from about 1.25 percent of the total female workforce.

These are several factors that explain this enormous gender gap, from unconscious gender bias to the lack of adequate training to overall perceptions of women working in construction, which is traditionally a male-dominated career. Despite these barriers, women choosing this career path continues to grow and 13% of construction firms are owned by women. Trade schools, such as Athens Technical College, have construction and interior design degrees, which are open to women. The largest barrier I believe there is to women working in the construction industry is the lack of knowledge. Women and girls don’t know that these job opportunities exist for them or haven’t seen any other women working these jobs so they don’t know what is possible for them. There are many wonderful opportunities for great careers for women in this industry.

Construction was expected to grow by 3 percent in 2019 and create almost 2 million new jobs by 2021 and companies are looking to recruit more women to bring their skill sets into the field. Women are expected to make up 25% of the industry by 2020. Questions? Email me at Jessica@webbercoleman.com