Welcome to Ladies in Building Week. As we all the time say right here at Constructech, the numbers inform a really attention-grabbing story, and it appears the info is making an attempt to inform us one thing, if we’re keen to take heed to what it has to say.
Whereas 1.13 million ladies labored within the building trade in 2006, that complete fell to simply 802,000 in 2012. What occurred throughout that point to make the numbers drop so sharply? Merely, the 2008 Nice Recession. Nevertheless, since 2012, the variety of feminine building workers has elevated. In 2024, ladies represented 11.2% of the development workforce, which is the very best share in twenty years, in response to the NAHB (Nationwide Assn. of House Builders).
As Peggy Smedley all the time says, the development trade is cyclical in nature. There’ll all the time be downturns, however the building trade weathers the storm, and whereas there are definitely adjustments that occur, the trade typically comes again stronger than earlier than. As a result of the reality is building is crucial. There’ll all the time be one thing that’s wanted.
Building staff are additionally important. The truth is, with a labor scarcity, the trade wants extra staff than earlier than. The trade additionally wants range in ideas, opinions, and concepts. Because of this completely different generations, completely different genders, and completely different races are key.
Ladies in Building
Final yr, Peggy Smedley penned an attention-grabbing weblog about ladies within the workforce. The statistics present ladies make up almost 47% of the general U.S. workforce, but in building they solely symbolize about 11% of staff. Even fewer of these ladies are within the expert commerce. Whereas it’s clearly an enchancment, there’s nonetheless a lot work to be executed.
Maybe step one is knowing why the hole exists. A survey by PWC (Skilled Ladies in Building) New York from final yr exhibits that girls are drawn to building for stable causes: aggressive pay, profession development, skilled improvement, sturdy advantages, and job safety.
The truth is, the trade boasts one of many lowest gender pay gaps, with ladies incomes roughly 95% of what their male friends make, notably higher than the nationwide common.
Maybe the second step then is getting this messaging out to most people and constructing consciousness in regards to the alternatives for girls in building. That is the place Ladies in Building Week enters the dialog. This custom of Ladies in Building Week dates again greater than six a long time. Again in 1960, Amarillo Mayor A.F. Madison proclaimed the primary “Ladies in Building Week” to honor the founding of NAWIC (Nationwide Assn. of Ladies in Building) and acknowledge the rising contributions of ladies within the area. Since that point, the motion has grown and developed.
In 1998, NAWIC moved WIC Week to the primary full week of March to align with Ladies’s Historical past Month and Intl. Ladies’s Day. Now, the occasion contains nationwide campaigns, regional packages, and chapter-led occasions throughout the US that features jobsite excursions, panel discussions, mentorship periods, media outreach, and group service tasks.
This yr, Ladies in Building week additionally aligns with CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026, which is being held March 3-7 in Las Vegas, Nev. With all of this converging on the identical time, there’s a greater dialog that’s occurring round ladies within the building trade.
The larger query turns into: Are we actually actually making a distinction with all this messaging? It appears the numbers are lastly pointing to some progress because it pertains to ladies within the building trade, however is that progress occurring quick sufficient?
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