GUIDES

Celebrating Women in the Construction Industry

Every year, we celebrate Women in Construction week from March 7th to March 13th.

March 29, 2021

At BlueTape, we boast a diverse team of both women and men, and celebrating the accolades and achievements of women is of large importance to us. In this post, we honor the women who have worked tirelessly within the construction industry.

Women in the Industry

When you think of the industries that are dominated by men, the construction industry is most likely one of the first that comes to mind. In the United States, women make up 47 percent of the workforce. Yet, women only account for 10.3% of the construction industry’s labor force, with 1 in every 100 job site employees being women. This number continues to improve every year, but there is still much more work to be done in order to break the “male-dominated” stigma within the construction industry. This stigma has also led to issues regarding gender bias in the industry. Women are, on average, less trained than men, lacking the essential resources necessary to fully make part of the industry and construction workforce.

Efforts of Women in the Construction Industry

In 2021, we celebrate the great strides of women in the construction industry. Some accomplishments of women have been:

Nearly 1 in 3 women were promoted to executive positions in 2018
64% growth in women-owned firms between 2014 and 2019
44% of the highest performing firms have women in executive positions
Large growth in the level of C-level executives

Challenges Women Face

Although women have worked hard to improve their conditions in the industry, there are still enduring issues that we must address and be aware of. These include:

The pay gap between men in women has seen 43% of firms not actively paying women a wage equal to that of their male counterparts
73% of women feel passed over for their roles because of their gender
Women are more prone to on-site injuries due to poorly fitting equipment
60% of gender discrimination in the workplace is endured by women
47% of women have never worked with a female manager

How You Can Help

Combating gender discrimination and deconstructing the stigmas within the construction industry are important so that equality can be achieved. The NAWIC is a great resource for educating yourself on the struggles women face in the workplace and the industry, in general. The NAWIC commits itself to achieving gender equality and provides educational resources and tools to help propel the effort forward. Additionally, make sure to create a welcoming, fair environment at your own workplace. By treating men and women fairly, you are contributing to an even larger domino effect: showing that women can conduct the same labor and maintain the same roles as men. Allow your female counterparts to voice their opinions and contribute to project and business development. If you enjoyed this post, sign up for BlueTape today!

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