Building careers
Women in construction crush clichés
Iliterally fell into a career in construction management. Back in early 2020, less than a year after I graduated from Vilonia High School, I started an apprenticeship as an electrician with a company in Arkansas. I planned to work in the trades for the rest of my life. But about 10 months in, I got shocked by 277 volts, and fell 6½ feet down a ladder.
It was scary. And it shifted my ideas about what I wanted. I stayed with the company for several more months, doing distribution gas lines. I knew I still wanted the security of a career in construction. But what I was doing wasn’t it. I’ll never forget the day I picked up a shovel and thought: “You could be doing so much more.” I realized I wanted to be in a position where I could help workers stay safe on the job.
That night, I did some research on construction degrees, and UA Little Rock was the first program that popped up. Its construction management program seemed like an immediate fit. That’s how I wound up headed toward a career I never thought I’d have. I won’t officially graduate until this summer, but I already have a position lined up with Baldwin & Shell Construction, where I’ve worked parttime while pursuing my degree.
I’m a big believer in the idea that women can do anything, and it’s an honor to be part of proving it. Out on a job site, I love jumping on a piece of equipment. I see the new guys look at me, like: “You know how to drive that?” At the end of the day, maybe they go home to their daughters or younger sisters and say: “If she can do it, so can you.”
It’s humbling to think that just by doing our part, women in construction are helping change people’s assumptions about what women can do.
It’s all part of what makes construction so rewarding, and why I’m so excited about the doors my degree is already opening for me. We were working on an elementary school the other day, and it was an amazing feeling to watch the kids go in and out, knowing that students will be able to use a structure I helped build for decades. I’m contributing to the future of Arkansas every day.
March kicks off with Women in Construction Week, and I’m committed to helping more women earn their place in this rewarding field. As anybody in construction can tell you, the labor shortages the industry is facing are dire. From trades to management, our workforce is desperate for trained, capable people. Given that, we’re long past the point where firms can afford to write off 50 percent of potential applicants just because women don’t fit the stereotype of what a construction worker should look like.
To any young women out there searching for a degree that can lead to a fulfilling, high-paying career, I’d say: You shouldn’t let that stereotype limit your future, either.
Jill Cates is 22 and a senior construction management major at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She serves as president of the Associated General Contractors of America student chapter and a member of the Dean’s Student Leadership Board.