Wednesday, 06 November, 2024

In Construction, Gender is the Diversity Issue


Reading Time: 2 minutes

Despite a labor shortage, where tremendous career opportunities exist, women still only make up less than ten (9.9) percent of the construction workforce. In fact, women working in construction numbered 1.5% of the entire U.S. workforce in 2018.

Allison Frye, immediate past president of National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), says most women have never been exposed to it.

“One of the biggest challenges we have is recruiting younger women,” says Frye, a civil engineer with SME, “and having them understand there is a place here and a great opportunity for you to have a very successful career.”

But why is it so critical for women to be represented in this historically male-dominated industry? Frye believes the need for more women is great because research shows diversity of thought produces innovation and progress.

“Anywhere there hasn’t been equity, we need to dig in and understand what’s happening,” says Margaret Mitchell, president and CEO of YWCA of Greater Cleveland.

With bias one reason that can prevent women from entering or being successful in construction, Heather Steranka-Petit, a consultant to the YWCA of Greater Cleveland, conducts unconscious bias workshops, dealing with diversity issues ranging from race and ethnicity to age and gender.

She says women in her construction related sessions report feeling as though they were only asked to apply for a position to fill a quota. “They worry about that and want people to know they are qualified,” said Steranka-Petit.

Her advice to males in construction leadership positions is to make sure women are given the same opportunities around mentoring and training as their male counterparts. And, if a woman brings an issue of harassment to them, take it seriously and investigate.

She also says women need to check their own biases as well. “Women need to keep in mind that sometimes we’re our own worst enemy,” says Steranka-Petit.

Edited by Maryssa Gordon, Senior Editor, Price of Business Digital Network

0 comments on “In Construction, Gender is the Diversity Issue

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

VIDEO: This Week’s Best of our Network

GDPR Compliance

DBJ does not collect data on its visitors.

USABR: Nationally Syndicated Radio Distribution

Contact

Contact  articles@usabusinessradio.net
for more information on articles on this site. bmuyco@usabusinessradio.net for all other information.

Kevin Price’s “New Rich” Book Ready for Pre-order for 99 cents!

The Price of Business Visits with Robert Kiyosaki on 20 Years of “Rich Dad Poor Dad”

The author of the best selling finance book of all time celebrates its 20th anniversary in a series of interviews with Kevin Price on the Price of Business.

Adventures in Quora with Kevin Price

Kevin Price, Editor at Large of Daily Business Journal and host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business show writes frequently at Quora about issues ranging from politics to personality types. His favorite answers are also found at USA Business Radio.

#METOO REHAB

The Best in News and Thoughtful Commentary

All the News. All the Time

PMWorld 360

Archives

NONE OF THE OPINIONS IN DAILY BUSINESS JOURNAL SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS BEING THOSE OF DAILY BUSINESS JOURNAL

For more information regarding content, see the About page.

Recent Comments

    RSS
    Follow by Email
    YouTube
    YouTube
    LinkedIn
    LinkedIn
    Share