Construction industry, as everyone knows, is the male-dominated industry. In the United States, for example, about 91 percent of workers are men while the remaining 9% are women. While there is no doubt that male dominance in this industry is extreme, it should also be added that most of these female employees work in the administration or secretarial departments in the construction firms. Only about 1% of female employees actually work in the field.
Women already working in the construction industry are also not happy with the work environment and are facing multiple issues at work. Many female workers report that they’re treated worse than the male workers while some complain about being targets of violence in the workplace.
Keeping all these factors in consideration, it is debated if more women should be allowed to work in the construction industry or not. This blog highlights why the construction industry needs to hire more women and how it will benefit them.
Is it the right time to hire more females in the construction industry?
Yes, it definitely is! Getting more female workers on board is a great opportunity to increase productivity for the general contractors calgary and large construction companies today. There are several reasons why the construction industry needs female workers at this time. One of these reasons is the shortage of skilled workers in the industry. Women have made their mark in the administrative and clerical departments over the years, but haven’t still been given the opportunity to prove themselves in the manual labor roles.
Key Reasons to Hire More Women in the Construction Industry
There are various reasons that advocate increasing women labor force in the construction industry. For example, recruiting more women into skilled trades instead of forcing them into administrative roles could readily solve the problem of shortage of skilled workers.
Another reason is the issue of worker availability. Construction companies can hire and train female workers and save the excessive money spent on flying in the male labor force for a project and then sending them back when it’s completed.
Many studies in the construction industry have found out that team performance is improved when women participate in the workforce.
Women bring new ideas and perspectives to the table which increases the overall productivity of the team as well as the firm. A study conducted by Harvard Business Review found out that the teams that included female workers had a greater overall intelligence level as compared to teams that only had male workers.
It is quite clear that women can contribute a lot to the construction industry, so they should be given an opportunity to prove themselves. They would not only solve labor shortage problems but would also improve the work efficiency of teams and companies.
How to Recruit Women in the Construction Industry?
One of the best ways to get women workers on board is by getting them involved in construction management. Psychology says that women are much better at multitasking than men are. Also, recruiting women in leadership roles will give the message to the world that the construction industry is not only open to male workers.
To attract more female workers towards construction work, companies should create incentives for them so that they complete their training in construction trades. They should also minimize the pay gap between male and female workers working in similar roles, and offer economic benefits to women, just as they do to men when they invest time and energy in learning a skilled trade.
However, more is needed to ensure that women are safe and secure in the workplace. The gender bias culture in the construction industry cannot be eliminated overnight. A proactive intervention at the managerial level is required to create a culture that is based on gender-equality by true means.
Women can do a lot for the construction industry if they are hired, trained, and accommodated in the right way. As the percentage of female workers will rise, construction companies will witness a significant improvement in their efficiency and productivity.
