Construction is a huge industry, which includes over a million women who form part of it. It is a male-dominated industry, men outnumber women in construction and maintenance roles by 95.9% to 4.1%, but the stigma about women working in construction has reduced drastically and more women are going into the construction industry.
Women in construction work in a wide range of roles, from management to surveying, civil engineering to bricklaying. The only area of the construction industry where there are more women than men is in sales and office roles, where women occupy a majority of 72.2% of the positions.
More and more women are becoming aware of the opportunities in the construction industry as it provides good pay, opportunity for job growth and come with union benefits. As far as equality in pay, construction has one of the smallest differences across all industries in the U.S. The average gender pay gap in the U.S. results in women earning 82.9% of what men do, however in the construction industry this is significantly higher at 95.5%.
With the construction industry facing a skills shortage, construction industry leaders know that they must attract as many people as possible into construction jobs. Construction is no longer a dinosaur industry! Modern construction sites encourage everybody to behave respectfully and treat everyone fairly. If anybody acts in a way that is not appropriate, many construction companies will deal with this seriously. Employing women brings a wide range of skills that benefit employers and enriches the construction industry. Women reflect the society we live in and use the space so they should also be working within it.
Statistics show that in the years to come women could make up half of the new workforce, which would be a milestone in a long history in which women have had to fight for recognition and equality in every role within the construction industry. Women are earning acceptance and respect for the work they do within the industry and have great opportunities to grow their careers. Looking ahead, we will see more women continue to choose construction and take the industry to new heights with their experiences and perspectives.
It is also worth noting that many job opportunities in construction have been filled by Hispanic women, overtaking all other ethnic groups. Hispanic women make up 2.5% of the entire construction workforce as of August 2022. Black, Asian and other minorities are also entering the construction industry in larger numbers. Becoming a more diverse and inclusive industry is important to the long-term health of the construction industry.
Bayview Services employees women in the field at job sides and in administrative roles. I spoke to two of our female field foremen to find out how they feel about working in this industry.
I spoke with Araceli McCourt who has been a in the industry for 19 years, 6 as a foreman. She chose this industry because her aunt was working in the industry and told her about the good pay, along with the hard work. She worked hard to prove herself to her male co-workers that she could do the same job as them. She confirms that it is not an easy job, it’s very physical but working smarter can make the job easier. Her favorite part of her job is that every day is different and there is always something to do. Over the years she has seen a change in men’s attitudes towards women working along side men as women are treated more equally than when she began her career. She admits it was hard, as a woman when she first started doing abatement and demo, but she earned the respect of her male co-workers and supervisors and was promoted to Foreman.
Araceli advises women that want to enter this profession to work hard and keep learning. Her most memorable working site was when she worked at Lake Tahoe demolishing a block of hotels. They cut around the walls and bottom of the walls and then all the walls fell forward. She had never seen that happen so that really impressed her on how they could demolish an entire line of concrete walls at once. Another of her favorite places to work with is CPMC at UCSF in San Francisco. She has worked there on many projects so she feels comfortable there as she knows most of the people and is familiar with the facility. Araceli has been a strong role-model for her daughter as her daughter is now serving in the U.S. Navy.
The other female foreman I spoke with was Bella Acevedo. Bella has been in this industry for 11 years. Members of her family were already working in the industry in Southern California so when she relocated to Northern California she went to training and started working. She started working at a small non-union company and gradually moved on to bigger companies with bigger projects. Over the years she has seen the changes in the industry with it becoming more modern, new equipment has been brought in, more opportunities and accommodations on job sites for the women workers. Her advice to women wanting to enter this industry is to be informed and know what is required to be successful. Know what the expectations are to do this job, to keep learning and keep improving at what they are assigned at each job. She was surprised when she was approached to become a supervisor. She feels she earned her co-workers respect by showing she could do the job, she follow’s up, is firm in what she says and expects from her crew. Her favorite part of her job is the safety aspects. Safety is ongoing, checking every day that everyone is working safely. Her favorite project was working at the Chase Center in San Francisco. She was in charge of several crews, they worked 7 days a week and were at that site for two years. When Bella lived in Southern California she was a manager of a Wendy’s. This is where she honed her management skills and that experience helped her quickly because a lead person and then a foreman.
Bayview is fortunate to have workers like Araceli and Bella and will continue to train, support and help workers like them to advance in their careers and build their technical skills to become leaders within the industry. Our thanks to both Araceli and Bella for the great work they do every day.