About 1.2 million women work in construction. That’s approximately 1 in 10 workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), but more women are on the way, as attracting them to the industry will help address a labor force shortage and raise representation. Some companies are already increasing the percentage of women on their rosters, and women currently employed are finding new opportunities and a changing work environment. While not yet fully realized, a more level playing field in construction is providing new and improved service and making a difference in the lives of workers and customers.

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The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), Fort Worth, Texas, and Safe Site Check In, a safety and health software provider, Lafayette, Calif., surveyed more than 700 women in construction. Their 2021 report found 71% of respondents saw opportunities for women increasing, while another 28% saw flat growth.

“Now is a great time for women to work in construction,” said Crissy Ingram, executive director of NAWIC. “There are more job opportunities across a variety of professional, trade and administration fields, and the gender pay gap is significantly smaller. On average, women in construction earn 99.1% of their male colleagues.”

The survey asked respondents to rate workplace equality on a scale between 1 to 100, and more than half ranked their employers at 80 or above. Of note, 49% of participants had been working in construction for 16 or more years, 15% 11–15 years, 15% 6–10 years, and 21% five years or less. Occupationally, 57% of respondents worked solely in the office, 40% in the office and field and 3% only in the field. For electricians, that last stat rings true, as BLS states women represent about 3% of electricians working on-site.

There are female trailblazers in upper management—and ownership—in the construction trades, but most opportunities are found in middle management. For Bonnie Lunzer, claims manager for Parsons Electric, an ArchKey Solutions company based in Minneapolis, a middle management role has offered her a desired sweet spot that incorporates office and job site work. 

“The trades appealed to me because you are building things,” she said. “I felt the best place for me to serve was in a safety position.”

In an earlier career as a FedEx delivery driver, Lunzer was injured on the job and had to find other work. Her experience going through workers’ compensation medical care and recovery led her to a position as a claims adjuster.

“I kept wanting to tell the employers how they could have prevented an injury, but also how they could help their injured employees recover. Parsons Electric gave me that opportunity. That led to a career in safety,” she said. Lunzer shared that great mentors were crucial in her journey, especially in the difficult early years. 

The evolving workplace

“On a construction site, there were no portable bathrooms designated for [women], so you got what you got. It was this ‘If you want to do a man’s job’ sort of thing. You really had to work hard to be respected, prove yourself. It’s much better today,” she said.

As for safety, Lunzer has seen an evolution as well. 

“You can’t compete with other contractors if your insurance rates are higher due to the number of accidents. The contractor with lower insurance costs, lower overhead costs, will be looked on favorably in a project bidding situation,” she said. “We’ve won some big projects in part due to our safety commitment and record. Those of us working in safety are now part of a valued team because we bring solutions.”

Diana Nelson is a senior safety representative for Hunt Electric Corp., Bloomington, Minn. Of the company’s 1,600 employees, she said four women work in safety. Further, 14 electricians are women, four are foremen and three work in limited energy or low-voltage with three serving as foreman. Nelson has spent 14 years at Hunt working in safety, the last seven in her current position. She’s found positive reinforcement and open communication are key to her success.

“Mentorship comes not just from Hunt, but professionals working at other companies. Electrical contractors are a small community. I can email any of them and say, ‘I saw this on a job site, what’s your opinion?’ If I happen to be on one of their job sites, we walk it together,” she said.

An issue of fit

Abby Ferri is chief safety officer for Insurate Inc., a workers’ compensation insurance company with headquarters in Seattle and Omaha, Neb. Ferri has spent 20 years in safety and health, having earned a Master’s in Environmental Health and Safety from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Classes had an equal number of men and women.

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“I wanted to get into construction safety,” she said. “Early on in my career, I stood out as the girl in the boardroom or at the trailer. It just was what it was.”

Ferri came to realize that she could serve as an advocate for women in the trades through the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), Park Ridge, Ill., Women in Safety Excellence interest group and her leadership opportunities at Insurate. She is currently helping raise awareness for lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) tailored for women.

“The concept of fitting the gear to the worker in a better way has come out of women’s proper fitting and coverage,” Ferri said. “Does a men’s vest given to a petite woman make the safety equipment a safety hazard? I would add the same could be said for different-sized men. The fit concerns have really been missed in PPE. Variety is not readily offered in the marketplace. If women aren’t raising the issue of female-fitting safety gear, the employer isn’t pushing to build demand. That leaves manufacturers saying they haven’t heard of a demand. Men involved in purchasing need to push back with suppliers and ask what [they] do have tailored for women.”

The progress that has been made was fully on display at a women’s PPE apparel fashion show held at ASSP’s 2022 national conference in Chicago. 

American Society of Safety Professionals

“This was literally a national stage bringing attention to the need for PPE tailored for women,” Ferri said. “In a lot of settings, be it the construction site or the industrial floor, effective PPE comes back to fit. We need options, especially the women. The climate is there for awareness, but you need action.”

ASSP plans to release a report this summer that will inform the PPE fit discussion.

“In this report, we are doing research for the safety industry, manufacturers of PPE and purchasing departments,” Ferri said. 

She described the research as a deeper dive into the differences between men’s and women’s bodies to help inform better PPE development and choices.

“Women vary in size from men in facial features like distance from one side of the head near the ear to the other side, the nose bridge is a shorter distance and temple length,” she said. “Such knowledge could help develop better fitting protective eye and face wear for women. In addition, we learned women on average have shorter legs and a longer trunk than their male counterparts. They have a higher waistline, shorter sleeve inseam, narrower shoulders and broader hips, shorter hand length and narrower hand width, among other anthropometric differences.”

Hunt Electric’s Nelson can attest to the challenge of finding PPE for women that fits, as she is involved in purchasing. 

“Right now, you don’t have a lot of options,” she said. “What’s there costs more money than the men’s equivalents. So usually, you are left with what your employer is providing. As an example, for my safety vest to fit, I need to take it in for alterations. But things are getting better, including vest sizes and gloves. There are also harnesses designed for women.”

Promotability

In its April 2019 report “Women and Safety in the Modern Workplace,” ASSP mentioned challenges for women in construction. The ill-fitting PPE and lack of female-designated bathrooms on job sites is improving. Another issue women face is promotability within the trade industries. That’s getting better, too.

“If you want it [a promotion], I think it’s obtainable,” Nelson said. “Nowadays, you put in the time and effort. We have a female vice president that wasn’t an electrician. Granted, there aren’t a lot of them, but we all have different goals, too. I could have pursued a safety director role, but I like where I’m at as I look to retirement. That said, I think we really need to encourage more women to enter the trades, and I certainly do that.”

For Nelson, that includes reaching girls early. “We have done an outreach with the Girl Scouts where interested girls attended a trade training day. We had the girls working on a lighting circuit, putting on the boxes, pulling the wire, drilling the holes. These girls ranged from sixth grade to high school. Some girls seemed to be really interested, but all were up to trying it,” she said. 

Ultimately, Lunzer only sees opportunity. 

“You can be a project manager, a project coordinator, a dispatcher, a superintendent, a foreman, a lot of things,” she said. “The doors are open. It not just that women can handle the rigors of a construction site, it’s the value they bring to problem solving, working with others. In the last 10 years, there’s just been a wonderful influx of diverse women.”

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