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The Importance of Women in Construction Today
Industries across the board are feeling the effects of the Great Resignation and labor shortages, but construction has been one that has been hit the hardest. Add a lack of diversity seen throughout the construction industry, and employers are finding their once crowds of potential workers dwindling, especially when it comes to women. To explore the reasons why there aren’t more women in construction, our host, Mike Merrill, sits down with Amber Hamilton – Vice President/Project Manager at SQI, Inc. – a full-service commercial roofing company.
As our March series on women in construction continues Mike and Amber take a look at the impact women are having in construction, how to expand the number of women that are in the field and how technology can make construction an attractive career for younger women.
Key Takeaways
- Without diversity, the full spectrum of talent cannot be used. Different experiences, world views and genetic makeup give a diverse team a leg up over their competition. Having the ability to be scrappy, elegant, detail-oriented and a visionary is nearly impossible for any one person to do; however, a diverse team can have everything needed for success and in spades.
- Giving clear roles and training encourages women to pursue roles in the field. There is a lack of training on the construction job site that can lead to an aggressive pecking order that drives work forward. This structure doesn’t work for today’s modern, orderly, and reliable construction outfit. Giving clear lines of responsibility and the training to go along with the responsibilities will increase healthy and reliable teamwork, increasing productivity and profitability.
- Introduce girls in elementary school to fun construction opportunities. By the time young women have reached high school, construction-focused roles have generally been eliminated from consideration due to long-standing stereotypes. The earlier these young women can be exposed to the opportunities available in construction, the less those stereotypes will play into their career choices in the future.
