We are in a perfect storm, of sorts. Progress is finally being made in terms of women in the construction industry, but recent events, such as the pandemic, economic turmoil, and the spotlight on systematic racism, are causing an upheaval in the labor force, particularly for women.

When COVID-19 hit, support systems—everything from schools, to childcare, to housekeepers—evaporated overnight, and while some of that support has returned, much of it is still missing. At the same time, women in construction have had to create new systems and procedures to keep workers safe on the jobsite or transition teams to remote work.

“Women are still facing biases (both implicit and explicit) and stereotypes. In fact, the virus is especially hard on women since they are assuming the larger role for caring for kids and family members while trying to work remotely,” says Nancy Novak, chief innovation officer, Compass Datacenters.

Still, there is an opportunity to continue to examine biases and seek out opportunities to create a more equitable workplace. In order to do this, Novak suggests using the network of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) everywhere, not just construction, is critical.

“The reason I say this is because the construction industry not only builds for all of these other businesses, but they can also learn from them,” she explains. She also recommends studying and promoting the very real and compelling business case for diversity to be armed with data, which is critical.

Some programs and organizations are making big strides in propelling equality and diversity forward. Such is the case of J.E.D.I., which is a joint AIA, LA, and SoCal NOMA committee with the purpose of advancing issues of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion within the architecture profession. Kristen Natalie Fraumeni, architect, HKS Inc., says her company encourages engagement in programs such as this one.

“I think women need to remain confident and use their voices in a powerful way. I have found that by being assertive, speaking up, and taking a seat at the table is the best way to promote equity in the architecture industry,” she says.

The statistics tell an interesting tale too. We all know the widely used statistic that women make up only roughly 9% of the workforce. But have we made any progress since that number was reported years ago? Yes, and maybe no. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics records annual averages of employed persons by industry, and shows that in 2019 women made up 10.3% of the construction workforce. That is some progress! At least, that is the case here in the states.

To the north, in Canada, the number of women in trades dropped in 2019, according to the Statistics Canada Labour Force report. While there were fewer women, roughly 4,300 less, perhaps more discouraging is the number of men workers grew by roughly 26,000. Globally paints a more interesting picture. The World Economic Forum also provides a glimpse into disparity, publishing the Global Gender Gap Index. In 2020, the Global Gender Gap score stands at 68.6%, which means the gap is narrower, and the remaining gap to close is now 31.4%. There is still quite a bit of work to be done.

Here’s the good news. While women are still underrepresented, they are making progress in becoming leaders. The World Economic Forum shows that this year the progress has not only been larger than in the previous editions, but also more widespread. Out of the 149 countries and economies covered, 101 have improved their score and 48 have seen performance unchanged or reduced. Specifically looking to the construction industry, a new study by BigRentz shows a big portion of female executives and construction managers have been in their roles in the last five years, showing that women have been promoted to leadership more often recently. In fact, it says nearly 1 in 3 companies promoted women to senior roles in 2018.

Still, women executives are more likely to occupy staff roles, 14%, than line roles, 7%. Compare this to their male counterparts, with 33% of staff executives being male compared to 46% being line executives. Most often, women are in sales and office roles, followed by management, then construction and maintenance, and finally very few are in service occupations and transportation. Another big discrepancy comes into play when comparing the office to the trades. Roughly 86.7% are in office positions, while only 2.5% of tradespeople are women.

Today, female-owned firms are on the rise, with 13% of construction firms owned by women. Between 2014 and 2019, we saw a 64% growth in female-owned firms, but only 9% of female-owned firms achieve revenues of more than $500,000. This is due to a number of different reasons.

Some of the biggest obstacles women still face in the construction industry is a pay gap, with 43% of organizations not actively monitoring gender pay gaps; exclusion, with eight out of 10 women feeling left out at company social events; and ongoing discrimination, with 60% of gender discrimination victims on the workplace being female. Women also have a higher risk of workplace injury due to poorly-fitted equipment and roughly 73% feel passed over for roles because of their gender. Here’s another shocking stat: 47% of women have never worked with a female manager, leaving them less likely to have role models.

This is one of the reasons the Women in Construction list exists—to give the women in leadership a voice, while also allowing others to see role models, all while bulldozing the obstacles in the way. Since the list launched, hundreds of women have been named, and this year, 42 women are honored as the 2020 Women in Construction, which is the sixth year Constructech has recognized the most successful women working within the construction industry and leveraging technology. These women are resilient, take initiative, demonstrate bold leadership, embrace mentorship, and take a step forward in technology and innovation.

Each year, Constructech magazine receives more than a hundred nominations, in addition to researching additional women in the space. The winners are then chosen by a group of winners from the previous year as well as the editorial team. The 2020 Women in Construction Judges include Brandi Baldwin, Missouri Dept. of Transportation; Tracy Bell, Tilson Tech; Rebekah Casey, Brasfield & Gorrie; Nicole Darling, Ryan Companies; Jackie Guttman, Ruhlin; Susan Heinkling, Pepper Construction; Constance Lai, Grunley; Allison Lewis, Gray; Ashley Martin, Flintco.; Adrienne Sherwood, Grunley; Marie Speakman, Suffolk; Patricia Waller, GFNET; Debbie Watt, Shawmut; Julie Wright, Porter Davis; and Taylor Wright, T and M Equipment.

Below are profiles of each of the 42 Constructech Women in Construction. Let’s learn a little bit more about the women who are leading the charge in construction. Please join us in congratulating and learning from the 2020 Women in Construction.

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