Industry Insight
Commerce Department initiative aims to bring 1 million more women into the construction industry
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the Million Women in Construction Community Pledge to bring more women into the construction workforce. Several leading construction companies have signed on to the Pledge, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo is making an industrywide call for more companies, unions and training organizations to join in.
By signing on to the Million Women in Construction Community Pledge, leaders in the industry are demonstrating an ongoing commitment to increase women’s access to training, jobs and leadership opportunities. This industrywide call to action encourages signers to voluntarily take action by utilizing best practices, including building community partnerships to reach women and girls, investing in solutions that increase supportive services such as childcare, and fostering safe, healthy and respectful workplaces.
The Million Women in Construction initiative is a nationwide call to action for the construction industry — construction contractors, trade unions, and training institutions — to commit to bold steps that will ensure a robust and diverse workforce in the years ahead. It will be necessary to recruit, train, hire and retain thousands of new and non-traditional workers — the next generation of skilled laborers and leaders who are prepared to rebuild U.S. infrastructure and supply chains and complement Federal government investments.
“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is creating a construction boom all over the country, and with that boom comes a huge increase in jobs and opportunities for workers in construction and the trades,” said Secretary Raimondo. “But right now, women make up less than 11% of jobs in construction and only 4% in skilled trades. Many of these are good-paying, quality jobs you can get without a college degree, and women deserve equal opportunity for these jobs. If we’re going to meet this moment, we need more women in construction, and we need an industrywide commitment, which is why I’m calling on everyone — contractors, labor unions, training organizations — to join our Community Pledge to commit to solutions and support proven strategies that help overcome barriers faced by women and underserved communities in construction and the trades.”
To learn more or pledge, email WomenInConstruction@doc.gov or visit https://www.commerce.gov/issues/million-women-construction-initiative/million-women-construction-community-pledge.
