“Women remain severely underrepresented in construction jobs today,” according to the study “Women in Construction: Still Breaking Ground” by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC).
The study points out that, despite composing almost half of workers in all occupations (47%), women make up only 2.6% of workers in construction and extraction occupations.
“The share of women in the construction industry has remained shockingly low – under 3% – for decades, due in large part to the discrimination that blocks women from entering and staying in the field,” the NWLC study asserts. “Sexual harassment and hostility, lack of mentors, and stereotyped assumptions about women’s capabilities all contribute to the problem. Unequal access to construction jobs in turn negatively affects women’s income, as traditionally male fields pay higher wages and have a lower wage gap than those dominated by women.
“More must be done to reverse this trend in construction, and the growth of women’s participation in similar nontraditional fields shows that it is possible.”
In general, female construction workers make only 77 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts working full time, year round. Over the course of a 40-year career, the gap adds up to $464,314 in lost wages.”
Download the report “Women in Construction: Still Breaking Ground”
