Women And Construction

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction has long been a male-dominated field and only about 13 percent of payroll employees in the construction industry are women.  A number that has remained relatively stagnant since the 1990s. When also considered self-employed workers, the proportion is even lower, at just 10.3 percent. Despite the gender gap in employment, some job functions and locations offer better opportunities for women seeking a career in the construction industry, and the City of Dallas is not included in the top 20 Cities in the US, considering Austin, Texas is 18th.

In addition, A major benefit for women in the construction industry is that they tend to command higher wages than female workers in other fields. The median full-time wage for women in construction is $46,808 per year, compared to $43,394 for female workers across all industries. Interestingly, the opposite is true for men in construction, who generally earn less than the typical male worker. In addition, men and women in the construction industry report relatively equal pay. While the national gender pay gap across all industries is 19 percent, the gender pay gap in construction is only 3.7 percent.

First Step Community Empowerment has taken the initiative to train and place more women into the construction industry.