Construction Isn’t Just for Men

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor.

Don’t overlook women when hiring for roofing and construction jobs.

“Women make up less than 10 percent of the construction industry, according to the National Association of Women in Construction,” writes Lisa Ann Marchesi in an article published in Construction Today magazine. She points out that many think of construction as a man’s job, but she rejects that way of thinking.

Marchesi is vice president of Property and Casualty at NFP and a member of the board of directors for the Women’s Builder Council of New York City. In that role, she sees the impact that women are having on the construction industry, from running businesses to working in the field. She says that the gender divide is complicated by stigmas and biases that we need to overcome, and she takes on addressing some common misconceptions.

#1 – Women can’t do the work.

Many women can do the work says Marchesi. “There is a common perception that men are always stronger than women, and that women would not be able to keep up with their male counterparts on the job site,” she writes. “This is a generalization; it actually depends on the person.”

#2 – Women are a liability in the #MeToo era.

Marchesi says that women are not a liability: bad behavior is. She suggests that business leaders must protect both women and men from bad behavior in the workplace and this is accomplished through education. 

#3 – Construction companies can’t accommodate a pregnant woman’s needs.

A pregnant woman working on a construction site won’t be able to carry out her duties through the entire pregnancy, says Marchesi, but there are other options. She writes that “pregnancy is never a legitimate reason to discriminate against female employees,” suggesting that leaders should find alternate tasks that the employee can perform safely once it becomes too dangerous for them to work on a job site.

Recruiting more women into the trades is going to take time. Marchesi says that industry leaders need to work on the message that construction industry jobs are “available and suitable for all.”

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