We (and other construction industry trade associations) are encouraging more women to join the construction industry and across the nation, it seems to be working.
From The Washington Post:
Worker shortages can’t be the only explanation. Construction had neared 2016 levels of unemployment before — notably during the housing boom of the mid-2000s — yet there was no similar sustained rise in women on work sites. Why was this time different?
For one thing, the mid-2010s brought new momentum to efforts by labor groups to increase the supply of skilled tradeswomen, remove barriers to hiring them and make it easier for them to stay on the job once hired.
Consider Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT), a key player in a vibrant ecosystem of such organizations. Since 1981, its trainers have given thousands of women the skills, strength and social support needed to succeed in male-dominated apprenticeship programs. But in 2016, the venerable organization took its efforts to the next level, opening a national center devoted to working with state and local governments, local organizations and corporations to better support women on the worksite.
After all, the lack of women in construction wasn’t due to a lack of supply of women willing to take lucrative, secure work as carpenters or welders. It was due to a lack of demand among employers and workplaces, which were often hostile to women workers. For women to really thrive in the trades, the industry had to change.
