The construction industry remains one dominated by men. But a new analysis of industry numbers shows that a growing number of women are entering this field, too.
FIXr.com, a home remodeling site, studied the latest numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and found that the number of women in the construction industry jumped by 52.9% from 2013 to 2022.
In 2013, there were 840,000 women in construction, FIXr said. But in 2022, that number had risen to 1.28 million.
“There are more women who have a seat at the table and on-site,” said Jocelyn Knoll, partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, in the FIXr report. “This is a good time for women to enter the construction industry, whether as a tradesperson, construction manager, team member, architect, engineer, executive, consultant or professional.”
FIXr found, though, that most women in the construction industry are working in the management, professional and sales side of the business.
Again looking at Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers, FIXr found that 36.1% of women in construction worked in management and professional occupations while an additional 36.1% worked in sales and office jobs. Another 24.6% worked in natural resources, construction and maintenance operations.
“Women can swing a hammer, climb on roofs, tear off and install a roof, lead a crew, create a safe workplace environment and create a well-rounded client experience just as well as their male counterparts can,” said Taylor Norris primary owner of Smitty’s General Contractors, in the FIXr report.
Women are still significantly outnumbered by men in the construction industry, though. According to FIXr’s research, men make up 95.9% of the construction jobs in the natural resources, construction and maintenance end of the business and 94.9% of those in the production, transportation and material moving side.
Men account for 83.5% of the jobs in the management and professional areas of the construction business and 78.4% of the service side.
The only area in which women outnumber men in the construction field is in sales and office jobs. In this part of the industry, women hold 72.2% of the jobs.
FIXr also looked at the states in which the greatest percentage of construction jobs are held by women. In the Midwest, Minnesota ranked high with 13.5% of construction jobs held by women, the same percentage as in Nebraska. In Illinois, this percentage stood at 12.8%, while in Tennessee the number was a slightly higher 12.9%.
In Texas, the number was 10.1%, while in Ohio it was 10.7% and in Indiana 11.2%.
