The total share of women in construction rose sharply in 2022, but diversifying the labor force remains a top priority for the industry
Sept. 12, 2023
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The construction industry saw a significant increase in female employment, surpassing 1.28 million in 2022 and recovering all pandemic-related job losses. Women now account for 10.9% of the construction workforce, up from 9.3% in 2002, the National Association of Home Builders' Eye on Housing reports.
Despite this growth, women in construction are often concentrated in roles such as office and administrative support, with 72% in sales and office occupations, and just 4% in construction and maintenance positions, where the demand is highest.
While construction and maintenance occupations account for the largest number of employees in construction and is where additional workers are most needed, women comprised only 4% of such occupations. Additional steps should be taken to attract female workers into these high demand occupations. Other groups such as production, transportation, and material moving occupations, and service occupations employed only around 26,000 female workers.
