Welcome to Girls in Building Week. As we at all times say right here at Constructech, the numbers inform a really fascinating story, and it appears the info is attempting to inform us one thing, if we’re prepared to take heed to what it has to say.
Whereas 1.13 million girls labored within the development trade in 2006, that whole fell to only 802,000 in 2012. What occurred throughout that point to make the numbers drop so sharply? Merely, the 2008 Nice Recession. Nonetheless, since 2012, the variety of feminine development workers has elevated. In 2024, girls 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 at all times says, the development trade is cyclical in nature. There’ll at all times be downturns, however the development trade weathers the storm, and whereas there are actually adjustments that occur, the trade usually comes again stronger than earlier than. As a result of the reality is development is important. There’ll at all times 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. This is the reason completely different generations, completely different genders, and completely different races are key.
Girls in Building
Final 12 months, Peggy Smedley penned an fascinating weblog about girls within the workforce. The statistics present girls make up practically 47% of the general U.S. workforce, but in development they solely signify about 11% of staff. Even fewer of these girls are within the expert commerce. Whereas it’s clearly an enchancment, there may be nonetheless a lot work to be carried out.
Maybe step one is knowing why the hole exists. A survey by PWC (Skilled Girls in Building) New York from final 12 months reveals that girls are drawn to development for stable causes: aggressive pay, profession development, skilled improvement, robust advantages, and job safety.
The truth is, the trade boasts one of many lowest gender pay gaps, with girls 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 development. That is the place Girls in Building Week enters the dialog. This custom of Girls in Building Week dates again greater than six many years. Again in 1960, Amarillo Mayor A.F. Madison proclaimed the primary “Girls in Building Week” to honor the founding of NAWIC (Nationwide Assn. of Girls in Building) and acknowledge the rising contributions of girls within the subject. 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 Girls’s Historical past Month and Intl. Girls’s Day. Now, the occasion contains nationwide campaigns, regional applications, and chapter-led occasions throughout the USA that features jobsite excursions, panel discussions, mentorship classes, media outreach, and group service tasks.
This 12 months, Girls 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 taking place round girls within the development trade.
The larger query turns into: Are we actually really making a distinction with all this messaging? It appears the numbers are lastly pointing to some development because it pertains to girls within the development trade, however is that development taking place quick sufficient?
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