WHEN you think of an industry dominated by men, construction might be one of the first that comes to mind.
Of all the people working in construction, women comprise only 10.9%. Even smaller is the number of women on the front lines of a job site — only 1 for every 100 employees in the field. Considering that women make up 47% of all employed individuals, this means that the construction industry is only benefitting from about 1.25% of women in the workforce.
There are several factors that explain this enormous gender gap, including unconscious gender bias, a lack of adequate training and negative perceptions of women working in construction. Despite these barriers, women continue to build their path in the industry. According to Randstad, women in construction management roles increased by 9% in the UK between 2018 and 2020.
As new construction industry jobs are expected to balloon by almost 2 million in 2022, companies are looking to recruit more women than ever before to bring their skill sets into the field.
What can women do in construction?
Women can take on any role in the construction industry. However, they are currently severely underrepresented in trade and executive positions. Just under 87% of women working in construction hold office positions, and only about 2.5% of tradespeople are women. Women also only make up about 14% of staff executive and 7% of line executive positions.
Despite these troubling statistics, many organizations are making efforts to promote more women into leadership positions, and women working in the industry are inspiring younger generations to follow in their footsteps.
Diversity drives performance
Although more diverse representation in the construction industry isn’t a reality today, this report by McKinsey & Co. reveals that the most gender-diverse companies are 25% more likely to achieve above-average profitability than companies with less diversity. After a year of industry-wide growth in 2021, hiring more women is an optimal way to capitalize on that expansion.
In fact, that report found that construction companies with more women in executive line roles than staff roles experienced above-average financial performance compared to companies that didn’t. When 30% or more of executive-level positions were filled by women, those companies had a 48% likelihood of outperforming their least diverse competitors.
Although more diversity brings about more success, Randstad found that women executives are more likely to occupy staff roles (14%) than line roles (7%). This is in stark contrast to men in executive roles, with 33% operating as staff executives and 46% as line executives.
Although there are obstacles for women entering construction, diversity is a proven asset in driving profitability and a key component in solving the construction industry’s labour shortage. With more and more ground-breaking women chipping away at gender norms and levelling the playing field, the industry is taking bigger steps at becoming a more diverse and inclusive space for future generations.
