Women are Driving Change in the Construction Industry

From live field data to IoT, the entire construction industry is changing with technology. But that’s not the only area of construction that is evolving. In fact, there is nowhere changes are more important and impactful than how the industry is changing for women.

Anne Pfleger is the President of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), an organization that has been providing female construction leaders the education, support and networking to help advance their careers in construction for over 65 years. In this episode of the Mobile Workforce Podcast, Anne joins host Mike Merrill to share what NAWIC does and how technology has opened up new opportunities for women on the job site. They also discuss best practices for women looking to enter the industry.

Key Takeaways:

1. Construction isn’t a male-dominated industry anymore. Men comprise 90% of the employees in construction but the number of women is increasing.  With more women in both leadership and job site roles, it’s time the industry recognizes it is male populated but not male-dominated, giving room for women to excel in a much more open environment.
2. Remote work gives flexible options that women value. The technology that allowed the construction industry to succeed during the pandemic is also enticing women who would normally not be interested in the rigid schedule structure of the job site into the construction industry. Remote work bringing valuable skills, insights and needed workers that would otherwise never be available to contractors.
3. Female-focused PPE brings needed safety and acceptance. PPE, such as face masks, gloves, shoes and lift skeletons, that are actually developed for different body types have increased the safety and comfort of day-to-day safety for women. Giving women the protection that everyone on the job site needs to extend their effectiveness without sudden or long-term damage that can limit their quality of life. Proper fitting PPE also signals that the wearer belongs on the job site, as opposed to being stuck in oversized and ineffective PPE that’s built for men.