1Running Head: EMPLOYMENT IN CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES Employment in Construction Companies Sara Saleh (148887) The British University in Egypt 2Running Head: CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES Employment in Construction Companies Hardware stores are retailers for home improvement supplies. They include several departments for the specific renovation materials needed for the home. These departments are separated into interior projects (pluming and electricity) and interior projects (roofing and stonework) for the property. Because hardware stores make it easier for homeowners to take a hands-on approach for maintenance, the need for professional help is not required as much. However, the “do it yourself” (DIY) products provided in such stores are used in labor work and are therefore associated with male commission. This ideology is carried in the construction industry where the gender demographics are unequal in employment. According to CNBC, only 9.1 % of women in America are included in the industry as of 2019 (Connely, 2019). This number includes administrative, executive, office, and field positions. Because of so, women seeking to occupy a sales representative position in such a workplace may not be favored. Rather, a male applicant may seem better suited for the job as it is “believed” that men have a predisposed understanding of such matters. Instead, women may take the sales positions in departments that are more stereotypically female geared like kitchen upgrades or planting work. Seeing as to how the profession is viewed as male oriented, measures need to be taken to encourage the recruitment of women who are underrepresented in the sales position of home renovation stores. Women face the challenges of gender bias and being inadequately trained in the construction industry workplace. By understanding these issues, there are means that can be taken for tackling this problem. As aforementioned, labor work is thought of as a male oriented profession. For this reason, women may be discouraged and lack the motivation to consider fulfilling 3Running Head: CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES such a job. The NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) conducted a survey on participants and asked them about their career choices. Of those who were undecided, 63 % chose not to pursue a career in construction despite how high the income would be (Slowey, 2019). According to Constructiondive, their statistical findings for women who worked for trades under the construction and mining category were so significantly insufficient that a percentage couldn’t be included (Slowey, 2019). In like manner, the underrepresentation of women can be seen in the next example. Amanda Gray who is an executive at The Dow Chemical Company for construction stated that it is not common for her male colleagues to doubt her credibility. She recalls holding a meeting, where she was the only woman, and was asked by one of her consultants if she knew what a cut section of a building was (one of the most basic aspects of construction). To her luck, her staff members acknowledged the fact that she knew what she was talking about (Connley, 2019). Moreover, it is plausible that since there are perceptual differences in gender, that harassment would be apparent towards the “weaker” gender. In 2018, a carpenter named Linda Dugue, who sued her former employer, claimed that she was subject to derogatory and discriminatory comments and that several of her female colleagues were eventually fired and replaced with men (Connley, 2019). One of the ways that gender bias can be decreased in the workplace is by providing early exposure to this area in schools and in educational programs. When children learn about how there are women who work in construction, it could give them more insight about the job opportunities that exist in the world and could take away the idea of gender dominated jobs (Zitzman, 2019). Another way to combat this issue is having women seek women focused groups. Groups like the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), Women in Operations, and Women construction Owners & Executives 4Running Head: CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES USA all provide mentorship, marketing, and networking opportunities to help women who are new to the industry (Zitzman, 2019). Another method is for women to attend conferences and read blogs on the topic. NAWIC has a national conference that holds seminars and workshops on the issue. Another conference called the Groundbreaking Women in Construction talks about the wage gap in construction and trains women on ways to resolve the conflict (Zitzman, 2019). Blogs on the other hand help women to be up to date on the workplace happenings. Two well known blogs on this topic are Constructing equality and Tradeswomen. Both blogs provide information on the research conducted on the profession, anecdotes from women who worked in the field, and scholarship opportunities (Zitzman, 2019). Arguably, the most important method for women seeking this job is to find role models of women who have been in the profession for years. This can be a huge motivator and inspiration for women entering construction. Women such as Jenifer Vides and Anna Jacobson who are both young adult females who both have managerial jobs in the industry (Zitzman, 2019). Lastly, women should advocate for support from lawmakers to be included in the workplace of construction. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, state legislators and professional organizations are trying to provide women with diverse opportunities and better wages (Connley, 2019). Another issue faced in the construction industry is the lack of training that is provided for women who apply for such jobs. Dugue stated that the women in the company were treated unfairly and were not offered the same opportunities for training nor opportunities for career advancements as the men they worked with (Connley, 2019). An organization named the Nontraditional Employment for women (NEW) is one of the few organizations that provides training for women in construction, utility, and maintenance trades (Connley, 2019). The organization 5Running Head: CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES provides an eight-week apprenticeship program where women can learn everything from how to accurately read a measuring tape to learning how to properly and safely lift labor materials. Another organization that can offer women with assistance and mentorship is the Professional Women in Construction organization (PWC) (Connely, 2019). In addition, the Northwest Center for Tradeswomen Equity (NCTE) provides all the same services for women interested in the field (Slowey, 2019). Likewise, construction courses and boot-camp courses are another option for women who want to work in field. Usually, large construction companies collaborate with local communities to assist women in adequately understanding and being fit for the job (Zitzman, 2019). Unfortunately, some jobs are gender oriented. Construction just so happens to be one of them. The construction industry is viewed as a heavily male oriented job. There are many specialties in the profession which include executive, office, and field positions. However, only 9.1 % of women are a part of the construction work population. There are challenges that women face in this workplace when they are employed. These challenges are gender bias and lack of adequate training. With gender bias comes harassment, which is another issue in itself. In this case however, it is due to how women are perceived in the job and how competent they seem. Also, not many companies provide the appropriate training for women to be well skilled for the job. However, there are measures that can be taken to tackle these issues. There are women focused groups, conferences and blogs, as well as role models that can help women break the gender bias in the workplace. For work training, several organizations are providing the teaching abilities and knowledge for construction so that any women interested in the profession can apply. Schools and education programs should inform their students of women in the construction industry so that 6Running Head: CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES awareness can be raised and help females be more open to the idea of joining the profession. In addition, companies should employ more women for the hiring position so that women applying for the job can feel more inspired. On a final note, Paula Stone Williams, who has experienced being both a male and female (as she is a transgender women) expressed it best when she stated “the more you’re treated as if you don’t know what you’re talking about, the more you begin to question whether or not you do, in fact, know what you’re talking about” while explaining how she was treated differently at a hardware store after transiting (TED, 2017, 9:48). 7Running Head: CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES References Connley, C. (n.d.). Just 9.1% of America’s construction workers are women—here’s what it’s like to be one of them. Retrieved January 29, 2019, from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/28/heres-what-its-like-to-be-a-woman-constructionworker.html. I've lived as a man & a woman -- here's what I learned. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrYx7HaUlMY Slowey, K. (2019, March 6). By the numbers: Women in construction. Retrieved from https://www.constructiondive.com/news/by-the-numbers-women-inconstruction/549359/. Zitzman, L. (2019, February 14). Women in Construction: The State of the Industry in 2019. Retrieved from https://www.bigrentz.com/blog/women-construction.
