Welcome women

Fix construction worker shortage

The skilled labor shortage that’s been coming for years is finally here. A study released in January 2023 by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) found that 57% of construction companies surveyed couldn’t find enough skilled workers. That was up 10 full points from a NABE survey conducted just three months before.

Without enough new workers entering the pipeline, construction is scrambling to convince young people of the rewards that can come from these careers. It’s time for the industry to lay out the welcome mat for one of the largest untapped pools of candidates: women.

Construction is viewed as maledominated, and the numbers support it. In 2009, women accounted for 8% of the construction workforce. Today, it’s about 12%. That gain is a step in the right direction, but it’s not enough. Too many of the barriers boil down to entrenched ideas or biases that we should have left behind.

As a professional woman in the construction industry myself and a professor, it’s a daunting problem. But there are things we can do to help.

Educators have a role to play in creating a new construction culture. For example, in the Construction Materials and Methods courses I teach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, there’s often a moment early on when a female student asks a very basic question about tools or terms, and a wave of chuckles and eye rolls passes through the male students in the room.

I always pause for a moment to call that out. I point out that not everyone gets a solid footing in these concepts in adolescence. I also note that in an industry that moves as fast as construction, reluctance to ask questions for fear of looking ignorant can endanger multimillion-dollar projects and workers’ lives.

These moments foster respect and support. But it also gives every student more confidence to ask questions — both in class and on the job.

Industry leaders have a responsibility as well, and not only through recruiting and hiring more women. If a female employee is taking bathroom breaks at a nearby convenience store because there are no facilities for women on the jobsite, make it right. If another employee makes inappropriate comments toward a female coworker, make a change.

Stand up for equal respect. This breeds a culture of inclusion and improves retention, too, which is also critical in a workforce shortage.

Women are excellent additions to the industry not only because of the workforce shortage, but also for the unique skills they bring. Female employees tend to be better at multitasking, more effective at communicating, and are often more resourceful than their male counterparts. These are valuable aspects of any employee.

The shortages in construction fields were a long time coming, and they will take a long time to overcome. But we’ll never get there if we keep telling 50% of the population that construction is exclusively for men. But by working to break down stereotypes and barriers, we’ll not only help more women succeed in construction, we will create a sustainable, diverse pipeline of qualified workers to support Arkansas infrastructure and its future.

Dr. Gozde Gursoy is a senior instructor in the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She holds a master’s degree in construction management, a bachelor of science in interior design, and is a doctor of education in higher education administration. She has lived in central Arkansas since 2008 and hails from Izmir, Turkey.